To Live Life Fully
by 1caiser
Summary: During Angel Beats! Episode 13, Otonashi confesses his love to Kanade. But Kanade later reveals that she was originally in a coma, wandering to Afterlife because she lost her way to thank Otonashi for giving her his heart. She disappears, defying Otonashi's will, and leaves him alone. In the end, everyone graduates...but are their memories of each other still intertwined? Complete!
1. Prologue: The Most Precious Treasure

_**Summary: Starting with the final five minutes of Angel Beats! Episode 13, Otonashi confesses his love to Kanade, to whom is known to the SSS, the Shinda Sekai Sensen; the Afterlife Battlefront, as Tenshi. Kanade reveals that she was originally in a coma, wandering to Afterlife because she lost her way to thank Otonashi for giving her his heart. She disappears, defying Otonashi's will, and leaves him alone. In the end, everyone graduates... but therein lies two more questions - Are their memories of each other still intertwined... or where they just mere dreams?**_

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><p><strong>To Live Life Fully<strong>

**Prologue: My Most Precious Treasure - Ichiban no Takaramono**

Disclaimer: _Angel Beats!_'s characters, setting, and plot do not belong to me. Even Mazui's subs, to which I have his subs extracted to form this FF.

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><p>Otonashi faced Kanade when they went outside before a brief glimpse at the rippling water in a pool. "Hey, Kanade? I kind of just realized it. You know... there are others like Yuri and Hinata and the rest who couldn't find their way here right?"<p>

"I suppose," Kanade answered.

"And they might end up staying here, like Yuri, being sad, suffering... and resisting life."

"I suppose."

"But if we stay here, we can teach them, like we did this time, about how the satisfactions of life and help them graduate." Otonashi looked down for a minute. "Maybe I came here to play that role... So won't you stay with me?" The wind tugged at Kanade's hair, whom put it back into place. "If I stayed here," Otonashi said, "I wouldn't be lonely, even in this world. I might have said it before, but I want to be with you." Kanade walked down the stairs as Otonashi said the words. "Because, I... I really... love you." Otonashi stepped forward and hugged Kanade. "I love you."

Kanade closed her eyes at the confession. "Why aren't you saying anything?" Otonashi asked.

"I don't want to," the silver haired girl said softly, opening her eyes. "Because if I tell you my feelings, I'll disappear."

"Why?"

"Because I came to this world to say... 'thank you' to you."

"What do you mean?" Otonashi asked, puzzled.

"I was able to stay alive because of your heart." Kanade put a hand to Otonashi's chest. Otonashi's eyes widened as he absorbed the words. Kanade pushed him away from her and put a hand to her chest. "Even now, your heart is beating inside my chest. My one regret was being unable to say 'thank you' to the person who saved my life. I wanted to tell you so badly that I got lost and wandered here, to Afterlife."

"No way..." Otonashi said. "But how... how did you know it was me?"

"I realized it when I first stabbed you - you didn't have a heart."

Otonashi checked his heart, and for sure he couldn't hear or feel the heartbeat. "But from just that..."

"You also regained your memories when you were sleeping on my chest. Your body recognized the sound of its own heartbeat."

"No way..." Otonashi gasped.

"Please, Yuzuru... say what you said earlier once more."

"I... I can't! You'll disappear!"

"Yuzuru... please!"

Otonashi looked down and shook his head, "I just can't do it!"

"Yuzuru...!" Kanade urged him, gathering Otonashi's attention. "Let me believe what you've always believed. That living is wonderful!" The words made Otonashi about to cry.

Otonashi couldn't help but repeat his words with difficulty. "Kanade..." he said, stepping forward to hug Kanade. "I love you... Let's be together forever..."

Kanade walked up to him and wrapped him in her arms, which Otonashi could not help but do the same. "Thank you, Yuzuru."

"Stay... stay with me forever!" Otonashi's eyes leaked tears, but Kanade continued anyway.

"Thank you so much..." she said as Otonashi tightened his grip on her, hoping that she won't disappear in his tight grip.

"Kanade!" Otonashi forced out behind his crying stature.

"Thank you for loving me."

"Please don't disappear! Kanade...!"

"This gift of life you gave me... thank you so much..." And she was gone.

Otonashi stumbled forward, the weight of Tachibana Kanade gone to support him. He fumbled for where she originally was, only grasping air.

Otonashi, taking him three seconds to realize she had accepted her regrets and passed on, hugged himself; the only entity in the Afterlife school grounds. Tears streaked his face. In anguish, he threw back his head and cried out to where God would be, in the skies:

"KANADE!"

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><p>Fifteen minutes later, Otonashi picked himself up. He still snuffled, but walked away from the stairs to the Principal's office, the headquarters of the Shinen Sekai Sensen, the Afterlife Battlefront. The door was cracked open, no need for the Yuri's password. He glanced inside, the belongings of his friends neatly placed in various areas. He smiled a bit before leaving to the Library's Computer Lab.<p>

There, Otonashi booted up _Angel Player_ and reset the environment of NPCs, but removing the skill shadow from their abilities. He then made a new program, which he left _unnamed_. Otonashi saved the settings and shut down the computer. Otonashi then left the building entirely and started to stroll around the campus, watching the NPCs leave to their dorms. Otonashi walked around the track, then around the gymnasium, the cafeteria, and the incinerator, all places that he had been with the SSS. When the sun had set, Otonashi looked up from the low wall he was sitting at and walked to the girls dorms. There, he located the room of Kanade Tachibana, whose door was cracked open with the light still on. He entered the room.

At first, he thought he saw Kanade on the bed, but he realized he was hallucinating because the image disappeared. Her computer was still booted up, the logo of Winding bouncing across the screen. He closed the door, sat at the desk, and nudged the mouse with his finger. The screen of Angel Player with her Guard Skill abilities in check, his idea of_ wings_ still in check. He alt-tabbed from the window, finding a different window. The title said March 26, 2011; today's date. Ignoring the act of invasion of privacy, he read the entry:

_It was a very fun day today. We all graduated from Afterlife, even my new friends at SSS. Three other members graduated at the ceremony I helped set up, Naoi, Yuri, and Hinata._

_In the end, it was me and Otonashi, whom asked me to stay with him. He told me that his largest regret was not being able to have people say "thank you" to him, but he didn't disappear, as were the conditions. We walked outside, and he asked me to help him help the other people who cursed life and God to help them graduate. I was heartbroken by the two paths to walk: disappearance or staying there forever. I chose the first choice, and I left him in tears. Even as I had went through the Tunnel from Purgatory, I still felt his arms around me, and his voice pleading me not to leave him._

_Otonashi; If you are reading this I hope we will find each other again, even if that contingency is lower than we think. Again, thank you for your heart, your love, and everything else. Thank you. I will always remember you._

Otonashi closed the program, and shut off the monitor. He couldn't bear to read any of the previous entries. They were probably also directed to him. He stood up and looked around the room. He glanced at a small teddy bear on her neatly folded bed. He looked outside to see a full moon outside, just peeking from behind the gymnasium. He smiled softly as he closed the light and exited the dorm.

Otonashi walked to the Infirmary and found the bed he first woke up in. He took off his SSS coat and his dark dress shoes and laid on the bed, staring at the square which was the lamp. He slumped his shoulders, and said, "Kanade. You're welcome..." Otonashi closed his eyes and went to sleep. A bright light entered the vicinity, enveloping Otonashi...

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><p><strong>AN: This is a first _Angel Beats!_ Fanfiction. When reviewing, please do not flame. Thanks for reading!**

**[Complete Message:I have a poll up regarding my next story. Please help me by voting!]  
><strong>

**-1caiser**


	2. Not Dead So Soon

**To Live Life Fully**

**Chapter 1: Not Dead So Soon**

Disclaimer: _Angel Beats!_'s characters, setting, and plot do not belong to me. Even Mazui's subs, to which I have his subs extracted to form this FF.

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><p>"Kanade!"<p>

Otonashi's eyes bolted open, multiple streams of light piercing the darkness like the presence of an angel toward sin. "Look!" Otonashi heard, "they're in there! Hurry, before any of them pass!"

"Igarashi..." Otonashi said softly, almost without strength. "What happened... when I was gone?"

"We're saved! They've found us!" Igarashi stood up and waved his hand. "Medic! Our medic needs a medic!"

"Igarashi, that's... a stupid thing... to say," Otonashi said, smiling weakly.

"Hey, you're the one who screamed 'Kanade' to wake up. Who is she, someone you like?"

"I actually... don't know..." Two paramedics came with a stretcher mounted with a oxygen breather and water bottle.

"Speak less for now," one of them said. "Open your mouth." Otonashi did, a stream of cool spring water entering into his throat. He coughed as he drank too fast. He took another stream as the paramedics lifted him into the stretcher. "Were there any other survivors?" a paramedic asked Igarashi.

"Out of the total of sixteen survivors found on the first day, one died... Otonashi tried to save him, but the man left us."

The paramedic stooped down to pick up Otonashi's fallen card. "Otonashi Yuzuru?"

"Yes, sir..." Otonashi said weakly.

"Sir," a paramedic said, "he's suffering from internal bleeding to his lungs and liver. It's possible that the blood may have scabbed over, and if he strains more, we may get some open scabs."

"Bring him to an ambulance. Get him to an ER immediately!"

A paramedic came and said, "Otonashi, excuse me. But this is for the better." The paramedic took a needle syringe and stuck it into Otonashi's neck. The medicine caused Otonashi to become drowsy. "Sir, the tranquilizer has been administered." He then put the oxygen mask over Otonashi's mouth and nose.

"Don't just stand there, you're gonna lose a life! Get him to the hospital!"

The sound of squeaking wheels dominated Otonashi's ears. Before he went to sleep, he stared at the top of the wall, where the source of sunlight came through. He thought he saw a short figure, hair streaming with the wind, blades sprouting from her forearms, and large wings sprouting from her back...

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><p>Otonashi caught a glimpse of himself on a table staring directly at a large light. "Someone check his card!" One of them said. "His heart's too small for him. Is he a donor?"<p>

"Affirmative! He had listed all his organs for donation!"

"We need a heart transplant! Size four, stat! And his heart is confirmed for donor-ship!"

Otonashi blanked out again. He could only feel his eyes dart back and forth, then felt his vision blur as his eyelids closed. "Kanade..." he whispered.

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><p>Otonashi jolted upwards, finding himself in a patient's gown. It was dark in the hospital room, the only sources if light coming from a glow-in-the-dark clock and a street light from outside. The clock read 3:19 am.<p>

"Get that heart we had extracted, and get that surgery performed right now!" Otonashi heard loudly, from somewhere above him. "We've already made one successful heart transplant, let's get this one done too!"

"Yes, sir!" more voices shouted.

Otonashi looked to his left, where lay his card and his phone. He took his phone, flipping it open. The main screen didn't pop up. It's dead, Otonashi thought. He flipped the phone shut, then located his patient's tag. The summary wrote: internal organ cleaning; heart transplant; bodily nourishment, all of them listed as successful. The boy smiled to himself. Then he frowned as he let his head fall back onto the pillow. His mind's eye focused on the figure he saw in the subway. The name "Angel" sounded familiar, as if someone had sung the name to him once. Otonashi stared up at the ceiling as he thought,_ A few seconds...? Too short... but why do I remember seeing a school... and this pain in my chest... it isn't pain from the heart transplant for all I know..._

_And Kanade... the name... it means to sing a melody... but why do I keep saying the name? I personally don't even know where it originated..._ Otonashi allowed himself to succumb back to sleep...

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><p><em>Otonashi woke up, jolting upright in bed, breathing heavily. That girl, the one that the magenta-haired girl called 'Tenshi', had stabbed him in the chest. He checked his chest, but no wound or scar marked his body. Then he felt something dreadful. He looked to his right, and there was the proof.<em>

_His white collared shirt was bloodstained._

_Otonashi picked up the shirt in fear, then dropped it on the ground. "I have to disappear!" he told himself as he put on the black school uniform jacket on. As he got his dress shoes on, a person with purple hair carrying a poleaxe or a halberd stepped inside, and said in a menacing voice, "So you wanna die?" The person said, "One hundred hit strike!" and lifted the weapon and brought it down across Otonashi's chest, then swinging him around in a web at the speed of light..._

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><p>Otonashi woke up, in the hospital room. <em>A dream,<em> he told himself. The clock read 8:27 am. But what was that-the guy holding a halberd. He looked familiar, like he had met the person before.

_But he certainly can't be Kanade, right? It's not possible that I would vividly remember the name of a person who would cut me up... and was that dream... was that why my chest hurts?_

The door opened, a man in a white suit and a green tie stepping in. "Good morning, Mr. Otonashi," the man said. "I'm Dr. Hamichi. Pleased to meet you."

"Oh, thanks... Dr. Hamichi... where am I?"

Right now, you're in the Haramishi Hospital situated in Tokyo, room three of floor two in building A. It's basically named Room 23A, for simplicity."

"Oh... thank you."

"How are you feeling?" Dr. Hamichi shifted a clipboard in his hands.

"I feel some kind of pain in my chest, but it's not related to the heart transplant that I received, right?"

"Well, it's true that you had a heart transplant for replacing the one you originally had, but there isn't supposed to be any pain associated with it. Perhaps you don't have any loved ones that died in the past?"

"My little sister died a year before the train accident, but I was going to a medical college to study medicine and doctor work."

"I see, I see..." The doctor scribbled something on the clipboard. "Did you dream anything disturbing?"

Otonashi breathed deeply, shaking at the question. He blinked, feeling a trail of sweat travel down the side of his head. "I... I..." he stammered.

"Suffers... from... dream... trauma..." Dr. Hamichi said as he scribbled it on the clipboard. "Get some sleep, Mr. Otonashi. I believe you'll need it, and you'll be better when you wake up. You're heart's okay, don't worry about it."

"Thank you..." Otonashi still shuddered as he closed his eyes.

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><p><em>"Just one question," a short student with glasses said, "what do I write in the name box?"<em>

_Everyone around the magenta-haired girl stood silent. Then the teal-haired person pushed up his glasses and said, "Tenshi."_

_"No, you idiot!" a student with blue hair said. "Student Council President sounds way better!"_

_"Well, yeah," said another orange-haired boy, but whose hair was a lighter tint than Otonashi's, "since she's supposed to be stupid enough to answer 'dolphin trainer' as a test answer!"_

_"Wait!" Otonashi said, "even to have the name incorrectly written is too suspicious! I'm surprised, you guys are saying you don't know her name?"_

_"There wasn't any opportunity to," the magenta-haired girl simply said._

_"How's that even possible?"_

_"Don't worry, just go to the faculty lounge and look at the Student Council roster, it'll be found there."_

_"Seriously..." Otonashi walked away from the desk and stalked to the door, until he felt a tug on his school uniform. There was the silver-haired Tenshi, her yellow orbs looking directly at him._

_"Where are you going?" she asked. "The test is about to start."_

_"Uhh, I just got nervous," Otonashi said. _Crap, what do I do? Not only that her test is going to be turned in as 'Student Council President', but she's going to answer questions like 'When a 3.0 volt current is moving through a resistor of 20 omega, what amount of current is flowing through?' with 'I want to be a train conductor' amps!_ Otonashi clutched his head in frustration._

_"Is it that nervous?" she asked._

_"Uhh, no... not that bad."_

_"Don't worry, you'll do fine... and you're..."_

_"Oh, uhh, Otonashi."_

_"It's Otonashi?"_

What timing... _Otonashi thought. _I'll know her name here instead of scouring through the roster! Hah, take that, Yuri, for not knowing her name! _"Uhh, I don't know your name either."_

_"Me?" the girl asked. "I'm..."_

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><p>Otonashi returned to himself once again. He looked at the clock, 6:38 pm. Otonashi sighed. <em>I slept for a while... but what was that? Is it me, or did I just know the answer would be something like 48 amps or something?<em> Then something disturbed Otonashi further. The figures in his dreams, their voices were extremely familiar, especially the one belonging to the Student Council President, the one they called 'Tenshi'.

But who were 'they' and who was 'Tenshi'?

_What's wrong with me...?_

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading. As this is a first <em>Angel Beats!<em> Fanfiction, please don't flame when reviewing. Read and Review!**

**-1caiser**


	3. Reunion in Reality

**To Live Life Fully**

**Chapter 2: Reunion in Reality**

Disclaimer: _Angel Beats!_'s characters, setting, and plot do not belong to me. Even Mazui's subs, to which I have his subs extracted to form this FF.

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><p><em>"Because I came here to say... 'thank you' to you..."<em>

"No..." Otonashi said softly.

_"I was able to stay alive, because of your heart..."_

"Please... don't leave me!"

_"Let me believe what you've always believed. That living is wonderful!"_

"Don't leave me...! I've already lost enough!"

_"This gift of love you have given me... thank you so much..."_

"No... no... Kanade!" Otonashi bolted upright, his face feeling moist. The source came from his eyes, he had been crying. "Kanade..." he whispered.

The door opened, and Dr. Hamichi stepped inside, without a clipboard in hand. He stood by Otonashi's side and said, "Otonashi, are you alright?"

"Doctor..." Otonashi said. "I need to ask... why do I feel like this?"

"Are you trying to tell me something?" Dr. Hamichi said.

"I've been having these vivid dreams... about things... I feel as if I had been in that place before..." Otonashi looked up at the doctor, his tears streaming down his face, out of his control. "Doctor, what is wrong with me? I've been being taunted by these dreams for three days, twice each!

"The first one was me waking up, knowing that I was stabbed and being alright, then being cut up by a halberd-wielding person afterward. The second was before a test, and I thought of the Student Council President, her test being her test turned in as 'Student Council President' and answering Physics questions with what she wants to be in the future! The third... I saw people... students, flying into the roof because of a jet-propulsion system under their desks... acting as distractions... The fourth was... so scary... that I barely remember... a red-eyed person... killing everyone as the same people from my third dream... but being sacrifices... The fifth, was killing weird shadow-like monsters... just to protect myself and the... people. And the sixth... I was hugging the Student Council President in my arms... and..." Otonashi hugged his legs, sobbing, but he continued, "she kept thanking me... and... and she disappeared inside my arms...!" Otonashi buried his face inside his arms, sobbing loudly. "Is something wrong with me?"

As he cried, Otonashi felt the doctor's warm touch against his back. "You're okay. You're being discharged from the hospital tomorrow, and everything will be like how it was before. Don't worry." The doctor patted Otonashi's shoulder. "Everything will be alright, Otonashi. I just know it will." The doctor left Otonashi's presence and exited the room.

Otonashi sniffled, letting the tears fall from his eyes to the covers. "Kanade..." he said softly. "Kanade... Kanade... Kanade..."

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><p>Otonashi woke up to a bright morning sun, the time being 9:54 am. He looked to the left of him, which lay his clothes and belongings, but there were also flowers, a rose and a daffodil, in the vase. In addition, a weird, small, black, egg-shaped pendant lay next to the vase. They weren't there when he first woke up.<p>

Then Otonashi realized something. Every day, at 11:00, the hospital locked down, every entrance. The flowers must have been from some patient, or someone that stayed inside the hospital during locking time. Otonashi could not decide which to believe, but he wasn't popular in any way. No patient or person would go into his room just to place a few flowers.

He touched the side of his head, feeling and hearing something. _"You regained your memories... your body recognized the sound of it's own heartbeat..."_ An image of him fallen asleep on the Student Council President burst into his mind's eye, her eyes staring up at the ceiling as she stroked his hair.

_This Student Council President..._ Otonashi thought, _and this Kanade... could they be the same person? Could they...?_ Otonashi dismissed the thought as he got out of bed and changed from the hospital clothes to his day clothes. He changed out of his patient's gown and into the plain, white, collared shirt, the black dress pants, and a green denim coat. After changing and putting his dead phone and ID card into his pocket, he checked for a tag on the flowers. There was a piece of string hanging from one of the rose's thorns, which said 'Get well soon!' in blue ink. He smiled as he took the flowers, put on the pendant, emptied the vase in the restroom, and walked out the door. He waited in the elevator as it went to the ground floor.

At the receptionist's desk, he placed the flowers in a flower jar, then signed out his leave. The receptionist bid Otonashi good health as he walked through the sliding glass doors.

Once outside, Otonashi breathed in a gulp of fresh air. It had been a week-and-a-half since he had tasted cool, fresh air. It tasted crisp on his tongue, and felt cool in his healed lungs. He headed home, since the only thing to do was to get his phone charged and make himself some lunch.

He walked through the bustling streets of Shibuya, wondering at what he had missed out on for that week-and-a-half. Nothing had changed, really, same business. At the construction area where he worked, he saw another person, someone with a lighter shade of orange hair and not much older, assume his original job.

Upon nearing the bus stop, he felt something strange. He felt as if everything had happened before, like a state of dèja vú. Amongst the sound of tramping feet and side conversations, he heard someone humming, a song he somehow recognized as My Song. Otonashi did not know how he knew it, and involuntarily tried the trace the source. He saw a small girl, leaned up against the wall of the 10Q LL Angel store -also called Shibuya 109 by others who preferred the original name - whom was not going along with the flow of people. She was wearing a blue vest over a white blouse, while a large hat covered her face, but Otonashi could see silver hair sticking from the hat. Her right hand held a strap of a hangbag that hung on her right shoulder. The melody was coming from her.

The girl flipped open a phone that was in her left hand and started to walk away.

_Kanade..._ Otonashi heard in the back of his mind, _don't leave me! Stay... stay with me...!_

"Kanade..." Otonashi whispered as he advanced toward the girl. He touched her shoulder.

The girl turned around at the newcomer and said, "Can I..." Then she stopped, her eyes as large as the sun in the sky. She slowly looked up at Otonashi's face and studied it hard. "Those... eyes..." she said. "Otonashi... Yuzuru...?" Tears flowed into her eyes.

"Uhh, yeah..." Otonashi said. "I... don't know your name either..." Then it hit him. "Ah... Tachibana... Kanade...?"

"Yuzuru!" she cried, turning around quickly and hugging him, burying her face in his chest. "It... it's been too long!"

"Kanade..." Otonashi smiled as the name became familiar. "... is it really you...?"

Kanade looked up. "And is it... really you, Yuzuru?" She leaned forward to touch his face with her hand. It felt cool against Otonashi's skin.

Otonashi felt his eyes water, but wiped them away quickly. "How long has it been...?"

"I returned near a few days ago... I remembered all I had learned in Afterlife... including you..." Kanade looked up at Otonashi. "I can hear two of your heartbeats..."

"Two? How..."

"One I hear from inside me... one from inside you..."

"You have my heart... it is because of it that you were able to live..." Otonashi said. "You will never know what had happened to me... I remember everything now..."

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><p><strong>AN: And that's all for the clips from _Angel Beats!_. The scenes from now on are of my own imagination, and they will be longer to type. Thank you to all who have reviewed, and thank you to everyone for reading so far, and don't forget to Review!**

**-1caiser**


	4. Amnesic No More

**To Live Life Fully**

**Chapter 3: Amnesic No More**

Disclaimer: _Angel Beats!_'s characters, setting, and plot do not belong to me. Even Mazui's subs, to which I have his subs extracted to form this FF.

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><p>Otonashi and Kanade stopped at a nearby Asian fast-food restaurant, where they now sat waiting for the waiter to bring <em>Mapo Tofu<em>. Kanade had stowed her hat inside her bag, he silver hair like a cascade traveling down her shoulders.

"How did you pass on," Kanade asked, "get out of Afterlife?"

"I actually don't know..." Otonashi admitted. "I remember rebooting the NPC data in Angel Player, walking around the school, then going to sleep in the infirmary. I saw a bright light and the next thing I knew, I had screamed your name and woke up in the tunnel, the one I was supposed to die in. You heard it in the news, right?"

"I found your name in there," Kanade said. "You saved fifteen survivors. That's a lot of lives saved."

"And you, how did you return... I mean, what happened when you came back?"

"I was actually asleep to begin with. I saw a great big light, hearing voices shout above me. They said something about working different procedures. They were doing a heart transplant. They found one, replaced my failing one, and I was discharged in twenty-four hours.

"It... isn't my heart, is it?" Otonashi asked.

"Wait...? You had your heart taken out of you?"

"The doctors said it shrunk while I was in the tunnel, like it shrunk by a full size. I don't know the exact details, but they held it for donor-ship. It was mine, because they said that they had just gotten one! It was my heart, was it?"

"I don't know..." Kanade said, "but it does make sense... even if you died or not, the heart would still have been mine..." Kanade looked up. "How about I'll let you check after the food comes?"

"Maybe, if I remember." Otonashi turned as the waiter walked over to their table. As he set down the plate of food, he noticed Otonashi.

"Hey, I know you," the waiter said, "you're the guy who saved fifteen people in that tunnel incident, right?"

"Err, yeah," Otonashi said, smiling weakly and scratching the back of his head.

"The people on board that train included my two younger sisters! And you saved them! I can't thank you enough of how grateful I am of you!"

"Well, it's nice to hear that people actually thank me for what I had done. You're welcome." The waiter laughed as he patted Otonashi's back and left the table. Kanade stared at the _Mapo Tofu_ for a second, then plopped a few spoonfuls onto her plate. She then took her spoon and put the food in her mouth. She swallowed and smiled. "Still some good tofu... but lacks a better aftertaste."

"Really?" Otonashi took the serving spoon and helped himself, trying the Mapo Tofu. It was still spicy enough for him to empty half his ice-water before he could withstand the taste. "Yeah," he gasped, "it lacks an aftertaste... that's still some spicy stuff! How do you resist it?"

"I actually don't know. My parents used to joke that when they went to a sushi buffet when I was a baby, I reached over and put a great lump of _wasabi_ and stuck it in my mouth. They spent the next three minutes getting the green paste out while feeding me water." Kanade sighed as she looked at her Mapo Tofu. "I miss them so much nowadays..."

"What happened?" Otonashi asked.

"I'm not technically orphaned, since I have an uncle that took me in when my parents died. They died in a freak car accident, the doctors said." Kanade looked at her half-eaten _Mapo Tofu_. "I was at school when it happened, so I don't know the exact details."

"I experienced the exact same thing, so I can relate," Otonashi said. "Can I ask how you came to be in Afterlife?"

Kanade swirled her Mapo Tofu around. "I was laid in a coma. I was riding in a taxi, headed for home, since my uncle was out of the country, and he couldn't pick me up. A car crashed into the side of the taxi, flipping it over onto its side. I have no idea what had happened then, as I fell into the coma. It was then that I had a heart transplant, not knowing it was yours. I fell into a coma, wanting to thank the one whom gave me this gift of life..." Kanade looked up. "And you know what's weird? The one who gave me his heart is sitting across from me..."

"But isn't donor-ship only restricted to brain-dead people? You couldn't possibly have gotten my heart, then."

"Well, something happened. The world's sense of time is skewed - I came to Afterlife first, before your supposed death, but you were the last to arrive. I'm guessing the others, like Yuri, haven't realized they went through fighting me."

"So you mean there's still time to... stop a potential death?"

"I don't know." Kanade put another spoonful of _Mapo Tofu_ into her mouth. "But maybe. I don't know."

Otonashi took his spoon and put the food in his mouth. It didn't burn his throat as much as the first time and was able to get through the taste without a swig of water. It was four minutes until he finished the plate.

"I want to ask," Otonashi said, "did you think that, since time is skewed, our friends will still remember us?"

"I experienced that first hand," she replied. "The night before being discharged, I saw you speaking to Dr. Hamichi about your dreams. When you spoke about the sixth dream and said my name repeatedly, I knew in my heart, technically yours, that you were Otonashi. When Dr. Hamichi left, I went into your room, realizing you were asleep. I brought the flowers the nurse brought me and put it in you vase. I missed so much I felt like stroking your hair again." Kanade smiled embarrassingly.

Otonashi himself could not help but smile. "But what about this pendant?" Otonashi raised the necklace around his neck. It was still a plain black bead hung by a black piece of thread. "Did you get one?"

Kanade raised hers. "Never thought of it. It does look identical, now that you think about it. I don't remember having it before Afterlife."

"Maybe it marks our existence after death?"

"I suppose..." Kanade pushed aside the empty plate. "What were you doing outside anyways?"

"I was going home... first to charge my phone and second to just do whatever. I already missed my entrance exam, so I'll have to wait until next year." Otonashi sighed. "So much time with so little to do. Even Afterlife had things to do when I was bored." Otonashi pulled out his wallet from his pocket just as the waiter came to set the tab. He laid a solid ten on the tray, then stood up.

"I don't have anything to do on the weekends either. I used to have a lot of school work, but given that the term is about to end, there isn't much to do." Kanade said. She followed Otonashi to the front, which he returned the tab to the cashier. They exited to the bus stop, where one had already left.

Otonashi took a seat in the bus waiting booth. "I actually don't do anything in my house. There isn't anything to do, except wake up, cook food, go sleep, and all the other stuff. It gets lonely too."

"I'd like to come over," Kanade said.

"I kind of don't like how this is going," Otonashi replied, getting a little worried.

"You think dirty. I don't like that much."

"Yuri already messed up my mind, first telling me you were an angel, then making me think other things... like the operation names taking hidden meanings. I thought that Operation _Meal Lifting_ actually meant stealing lunches... but turned out they were lifting meal tickets into the air..." Otonashi lowered his head in defeat. "And _High Tension Syndrome_ wasn't funny at all."

"They didn't act at all like normal students," Kanade said. "What kind of person builds muscles to study?"

"Takamatsu would."

"Also, Yuri made you guys fast for a week?"

"She thought you were going to make contact with God, but it turned out you went to a hydroponics room to check on some turnips. Just because of that..."

"I didn't actually care," Kanade said. "I was just surprised that you guys managed to get in before the doors crushed you." A green and white bus sailed from down the street. Otonashi and Kanade stood up, waiting for the bus.

"Do you need me to pay for your fare?" Otonashi asked.

"Don't be silly. I can carry money too, you know." Otonashi hung his head in defeat again. The bus pulled over to them, and the doors swung open.

"This bus goes to the suburbs, right?" Otonashi asked the driver.

"Yeah, it does."

"Thank you." Otonashi paid for a fare, then retreated to a seat in the middle of the bus. Kanade came a few seconds later, and plopped right next to Otonashi. He put an arm around her as the bus started to move. "I wonder if Hinata and the others regained their memories yet."

"Possibly," Kanade said. The bus picked up speed as it entered the turnpike. Cars zoomed on both sides of them. "I doubt they will have a pendant though..."

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><p>Otonashi and Kanade dismounted the bus at the side of the street of Sensen Street, in which a left turn went into a neighborhood with a park, which consisted of a baseball field, a playground, and a few basketball courts. Otonashi's house was a two-story home in the back, rented from a local landlord. Otonashi didn't have to worry about it, since medical colleges supplied him with a scholarship income of enough money to get along with education and home needs. As Otonashi walked, he saw that the baseball field was occupied. Then he remembered something:<p>

_It was in the evening at the baseball courts. Numerous baseballs lay lying around. Himself, a pink-haired girl holding a baseball bat, and a blue-haired boy of his age stood among the balls. "But I don't go outside. How will we meet?"_

_"I play baseball too," the blue-haired boy replied. "I'll hit a home run, and the baseball will come sailing through your window. That's how we'll meet."_

Otonashi snapped back into reality. Shuddering a bit. _What was that?_ he asked himself.

"Is something wrong?" Kanade asked.

"I saw something..." Otonashi said. "It's nothing."

Kanade shrugged. They walked around the park, along the sidewalk. Otonashi heard a loud _clink_ and looked to the baseball field. "Wow, Hinata!" a voice cried. "Way to hit three home runs in a row!" Otonashi saw a white circle against the sun, then jumped back as the baseball collided into the ground that his left foot originally was. The ball bounced once, and a voice cried, "Hey! Can you throw that here?" A person with messy, long, blue hair stepped forward. He was wearing a short-sleeved shirt with school uniform PE shorts. A baseball cap kept the sunlight out of his eyes.

"Uhh," Otonashi said, picking up the ball. He tossed it to the boy, saying, "Hey, I think we've met before, have we?"

"We have?"

"It's Hideki Hinata, is it?"

"How do you know my name?" Hinata demanded.

"I'm saying we've met before!" Otonashi said. "It's me, Otonashi! The new guy to _Shinen Sekai Sensen_ - Afterlife Battlefront?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said, puzzled.

"But-"

"Yuzuru," Kanade said, "no more."

"What?"

"It's enough. Let's go."

"Hey! Hinata!" a baseball player called. "What's the hold up?"

"Ohh, nothing!" Hinata called. "Coming!" He took one last glare at Otonashi before leaving.

Kanade and Otonashi sat on the bleachers of the baseball field, watching Hinata and his friends. "He doesn't remember?"

"No, that's not it. You told him about SSS. That should have rung in his head like a bell. Instead, he thought the idea would be absurd. No, this was not his time."

Otonashi looked at Kanade closely. "What do you mean?"

Kanade closed her eyes, reluctant to say the words. "He hasn't entered his coma yet."

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><p><strong>AN: Thank you for taking the time to read my story. Read and Review!**

**-1caiser**


	5. You Break It, You Bought It

**To Live Life Fully**

**Chapter 4: You Break It, You Bought It**

Disclaimer: _Angel Beats!_'s characters, setting, and plot do not belong to me. Even Mazui's subs, to which I have his subs extracted to form this FF.

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><p>Kanade followed Otonashi home, which was the house directly facing the park. The front lawn was crisp and clean, which was one of the few jobs the landlord enjoyed doing. Otonashi slipped the key in and unlocked the door, entering his house for four days, even though it was technically more like two months. Nothing had changed since he had left, except that a thin layer of dust had settled on a visible surface.<p>

First, Otonashi told Kanade to feel free to explore his house. He went upstairs to retrieve the spare phone charger, but when he entered his room, he found something strange.

A _Windings_ laptop computer sat on his desk.

It was not there when Otonashi left. And he was sure he didn't own a Windings computer anyway. The only place he would have found it would be...

"Afterlife..." he breathed. He moved the USB connected mouse, and the computer screen flickered to the desktop display. The wallpaper was the background of the program of _Angel Player_. The application was in the center of the screen. "Why is it here...?"

Otonashi entered Angel Player and looked through its databases. He searched through every tab and sure enough - the Guard Skill abilities were there, from _hand sonic_ to _wings_. The abilities of Tenshi, Angel... Kanade.

Otonashi brought the lid of the laptop down. _How did it get here...?_ Otonashi thought. _It can't have followed me to the real world, could it? Not like it can sprout legs or wings or something like that, it's incomprehensible!_

Otonashi gave up and located his phone charger. The device responded to the charger and immediately started up. Satisfied with that, Otonashi left his room and headed down the stairs.

Kanade was in the living room, putting a hand on a black wooden piano. She blinked as she turned to see Otonashi seeing her. "You play the piano?" she asked.

"Hatsune did," Otonashi replied. "My younger sister used to play it. She fantasized about every cartoon and anime out there, and wanted to play their original soundtracks. But she never got the chance to finish one, the ending credits of a particular anime I had long forgotten about. The sheet music and lyrics are in the seat, the one folder on top. Kanade looked and pulled out the folder. It included a disk and two pages of sheet music, notes placed neatly on lines. The cover had a sticker that said _Brave Song: Aoi Tada_.

"I used to play the piano too. But I had lost interest of playing when my parents died. I still remember how though..." Kanade placed the papers on a drop-down shelf on the piano and started playing, and singing the lyrics:

_Itsumo hitori de aruiteta..._

Otonashi felt happy to hear the tune, also sad because of the lyrics' meaning. To walk forward alone, with everyone far behind, just to show strength, to hide weakness...

_... namida o kobosu yo..._ Kanade closed her eyes, and Otonashi could see a tear on her face. "A beautiful solo with voice. To show strength by walking alone, but in the end, the one alone is just a weak, ordinary person. To have strength means to have as many bonds as possible." Kanade then opened her eyes, wiping away a forming tear. "Perhaps I should play more later in the week?"

"When you would like to come over," Otonashi said. "As long as you would want to play."

"Thank you."

"Don't men-" Otonashi was cut short by a somewhat loud crash. Outside, he could hear someone curse. The doorbell rang just as Otonashi was about to go upstairs. He went to the door, and opened it. There stood Hinata.

"I'm so sorry!" he said. "I hit a home run a bit too hard, and it landed in your window... and I don't know, shall I pay for the damage?" He looked up at Otonashi. "Oh, it's you. I guess I have more to say then.

"When we first met, I was kinda harsh on you. I want to apologize for my rude behavior."

"Ehh, it's fine. Besides, we were friends in a different world."

Hinata raised an eyebrow, then a thought struck him. "Now that I think about it, something does feel strange, like I knew you before. But I can't seem to remember... anyways, I was here to get the baseball that kinda demolished your window..."

Otonashi shrugged. "You can go get it. I'll get rid of the glass later."

"Wow, thanks!" Hinata went up the stairs, only to come down a minute later. "Uhh, I was thinking. As kind of like a payment... would you like to come play baseball with me and my friends?"

Otonashi looked at Kanade, who shrugged. "Is it okay if Kanade joins us? She knows how to play too."

Hinata shrugged. "Whatever suits you."

Otonashi smiled. "You have extra gloves, right?"

"Of course. Kids from around the neighborhood like to come and go. I kind of made a baseball club in this neighborhood. Let's go!" Otonashi walked after Hinata, locking the door after him.

_He really hasn't changed much,_ Otonashi thought. _He's still carefree, still reckless. But there is still something lacking, and I don't really have much of a remembrance either..._

At the field, every player was waiting for Hinata to return. "How do you even hit that far?" one asked.

"I dunno," Hinata said. "I guess I can't really control my swings very well today. Besides, I found some players."

"That's fine. Hey, new people! The stuff you'll need is in the bin there. When you're ready, pick a team. Hinata has less people, just to compensate his over-pro home run hits..."

Otonashi went to the designated bin and pulled out two gloves, tossing one to Kanade. "Didn't see you play in Second Chance," Otonashi remarked.

"Didn't have a chance," she replied. "I'm decent enough."

Otonashi sat in the dugout, next to Hinata. "So what's the score?"

"Ten to thirteen, us losing." The pitcher threw the ball, causing the player to strike out. The umpire, who was an older kid, called to switch sides. Hinata stood up. "Hey, Otonashi, take pitcher, will you?"

"Why do I have to be pitcher?"

"Part of the plan." Hinata winked. "I have a feeling you'll strike them out very fast." He then retreated to second base.

Otonashi sighed as he took his place on the mound. He reared his hand and threw the baseball, fastball style. The batter managed to hit it far enough, where another kid picked it up and threw it to first base. First base caught the ball a second too slow.

Fifteen minutes later, when Otonashi threw his fastball, the batter hit it straight up to second base. A kid cried out in despair, "Not again! Fly ball to second... that was what cost us the game last time!"

"What?" Otonashi watched the ball soar higher and farther. He then started to run to second, where Hinata squinted against the sunlight. "Hinata!" he yelled.

Hinata snapped back into reality, and brought his glove up to catch the ball just in time. He looked at the ball in his hands. "I... caught... it?"

"Hey! Hinata are you okay?" Otonashi asked.

"I... spaced out. Like the time at school, the away game between the two best schools in the district. It was a fly ball to second, but I missed it. It cost us the three year streak of being the best baseball team in the district. I think I must have lost it."

"Switch!" the umpire called. "Last inning!"

"Well, up to bat..." Hinata said. "but I have this feeling that something is going to happen sooner or later."

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><p>It was another fifteen minutes into the game. First, second, and third bases were full, and two outs. Hinata was up to bat. Otonashi watched silently from second base.<p>

The tension was rising. The score was seventeen to twenty. If this was a home run, or they only got one person out, it was enough for Hinata. He prepared himself as he tapped the bat on home plate. He swung it in an arc and lifted it into the air. Otonashi could not see what the pitcher's face was, but he could tell this was the climax of the tension.

_Hurry up and do something,_ Otonashi thought stupidly. _Either you hit far enough for everyone to pass or you hit a home run..._

The pitcher threw the ball at Hinata, the bat and the ball smashing into each other with a sickening crack. Otonashi saw it sailing above his head as he ran. It well made over the tree designating the home run line, but it still kept going. First there was a loud blare of a horn, then there was the soft sound of shattering glass.

"That's the second one today, Hinata!" the umpire called.

"Don't worry, I'll get it..." Otonashi looked to his right, seeing a moving truck turn the corner.

_"I didn't kill myself, I got hit by a truck..._ Otonashi cursed as he lined everything up. It the truck was making the turn to go past his house, or the house that got shattered, then the truck would have the blind side and hit Hinata when turning. "Kanade! Come on!" The girl looked at him, puzzled, before throwing down her glove and following Otonashi.

"Hey, where're you going?" a kid asked. "Weren't we going to play another game?"

Otonashi didn't hear though as he ran to Hinata. There was no way that he could make it, moreover, stop a vehicle that weighed a ton. But time was running out, and he could only watch...?

"Kanade! Guard Skill _overdrive_! It's our only chance!"

"But my powers are supposed to have left me when I would have left Second Chance..." she reasoned.

"_Angel Player_ exists! Trust me on this!" The truck was halfway to the turn, while Hinata was going to the turn. A row of trees blocked vision to the road, and the truck was about to make the turn. "Or Hinata's gonna die! Or actually face death!"

Kanade stopped in her tracks and said, her voice split between her original voice and one similar to a recording:

"Guard Skill - _overdrive_." Kanade closed her eyes, and her body responded with data streams creating a small layer on herself, like if she used _distortion_. A ring of dust few into the air as Kanade soared upward, jumping toward the curb.

Hinata was running to the curb to where the truck was turning. And Kanade was too far away...

"Hinata!" Otonashi yelled. The truck honked once, before suddenly skidded to a halt, but not until Hinata became bumped, and sent rolling a few feet away. Otonashi rushed to his side as Kanade appeared from the rear of the truck. Otonashi shook Hinata, trying to get him out of his trance. "Hinata! Wake up!" Then he saw something happen. Another data stream manifested itself and looped around Hinata's neck - a small black bead pendant. His eyes fluttered open. "Be seeing you..." he whispered.

"Hinata, are you okay?" Otonashi asked.

"Otonashi... what happened?" He took Otonashi's arm as the orange-haired boy lifted him to his feet. "I feel queer all of a sudden."

"You got hit by a moving truck," Kanade simply said, "right after you broke a window."

"You broke my window too," Otonashi said. Kanade here saved half your life. Hinata looked at Kanade, who tilted her head.

"Ah, to be saved by a former enemy... she does have as much power as a jet bomber anyway."

"And it's because of her that..." Otonashi turned around just to see Kanade teetering, lose focus in her eyes, then fall to the ground. Otonashi caught Kanade before she hit the ground and asked, "Kanade! You're alright, are you?"

"Uhnn..." she answered. "I feel... dizzy... tired.. is there a bed anywhere...?"

Otonashi brought Kanade onto his back. "You go get your baseball. Kanade must have taken the stress from _Angel Player_ a bit too much."

"That program exists?" Hinata asked. "But Yuri shut down all the computers with Angel Player, didn't she?"

"Kanade's computer still has it, and the one that magically appeared in my room has it too. Get your ball, remember what you told Yui!"

"Yui..."

"You told her you would hit a ball through her window. The only way for that to be true is to hit two baseballs into two different windows. Your mind was set to finding Yui, you just didn't know it."

Hinata nodded. "Take care of Tachibana then." And Hinata went to the doorbell of the the house, waiting there. Otonashi smiled at Hinata, but for one thing...

_Hinata, are you sure you're ready for marriage?_

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><p><strong>AN: Thanks for reading my story. Read and Review!**

**-1caiser**


	6. From Strength Comes Weakness

**AN: Despite the amount of time I had over my break, I was only able to get this chapter done. I'm working so slow as of now, but I'm still not on a hiatus! Read and Review!**

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><p><strong>To Live Live Fully<strong>

**Chapter 5: From Our Strength Comes a Weakness...**

Disclaimer: _Angel Beats!_'s characters, setting, and plot do not belong to me. Even Mazui's subs, to which I have his subs extracted to form this FF.

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><p>Otonashi went into his room and set Kanade on his bed, breathing somewhat irregularly. She had been in the same condition since Otonashi brought her inside from the road. When Otonashi got Kanade situated with covers and a wet towel over her forehead, he went to the <em>Windings<em> laptop and opened up _Angel Player_. He went to Kanade's tab, and looked around. Near the bottom, there was a yellow triangle with an exclamation mark with a warning. The Japanese kanji translated into "Environment unsuitable for some skills. Recommended to limit use in environment."

_Her Guard Skills are limited to time..._ Otonashi realized. _I placed her at risk for this... it was my fault she experienced this... symptom..._ Otonashi closed the laptop lid, and turned the swivel chair so he could face Kanade. He put a hand to her hair and started combing it with his fingers. He hung his head in combined guilt and shame. _It was my fault she's in this condition... same as with the _harmonics _clones..._ He closed his eyes to resist his flow of tears, but they denied his will, and a small puddle marked itself on the bedding.

"I'm the one who put her in so much danger..." he said softly, hating the way he acted. "It's too unfair... that I had someone to do something I could not..."

A hand touched his cheek. He looked up and through his tears to see Kanade had outstretched a hand... and she was smiling. "Don't blame yourself, Yuzuru..." she said. "Hinata would have died, and us helping Yui graduate would have been a waste... please don't blame yourself..."

Otonashi felt a tear stream down his face. "But..."

"Don't blame yourself..." she repeated, cutting him off. "If you do, I won't... be able to forgive myself either..." A tear rolled down from Kanade's eye.

Otonashi moved his hand to grip Kanade's, grasping it firmly. "I'm sorry... for not considering the possibilities... will you forgive me?"

Kanade closed her eyes and nodded. "I only want you... to stop blaming yourself... anything else will be fine."

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><p>Kanade was strong enough to be able to stay awake, but was still to weak to be able to walk around. She allowed Otonashi to go check on Hinata. At the door, Otonashi rang the doorbell and waited.<p>

A woman about his height answered the door. Her hair was a dark pink, like Yui's, except it was a few tones darker. The same hope twinkled in her eyes. "Yui has been expecting people since she woke up," she said. "The one she called Hinata has come in, so why don't you come in too?"

"Thank you." Otonashi removed his shoes and headed upstairs. He heard some laughing from a room and peeked inside.

"Ohh, and Kanade is back!" Hinata was saying. "She and Otonashi saved my life, actually. That was, after I hit the ball through your window."

"You didn't die, did you?" Yui asked. She looked more frail than she did in Second Chance, and she was bedridden. She was actually telling the truth about being crippled. She didn't use her arms at all when speaking. The Afterlife Pendant hung from her neck.

"Ahem," Otonashi said.

"Oh, there's Otonashi. What took you?"

"Kanade ran a low fever from _Angel Player_. She's fine now."

"Kanade?" Yui asked.

"Uhh... how do I put this..." Otonashi scratched the back of his head. "You'll recognize her as _Tenshi_, but she's technically-"

"That b_-mmph-_ that took my guitar?" Yui thundered, in which Hinata managed to cover her mouth before the cuss word could enter the atmosphere. "If I had control over my legs, I'd put her in a swatstika!"

"Let's be happy you can't," Otonashi said. "In fact, she was just a catalyst to help you graduate from Afterlife. She took your guitar so we could talk, and she helped hit your soccer ball into the goal."

"Wait, you mean Yui didn't actually magically curve that ball?" Hinata asked.

"Well, Yui did want to score a goal in a five-on-one. Kanade just fired a rock that changed the ball's horizontal trajectory..."

Yui's mother walked in with a tray of orange slices. "You three are doing fine, are you all? I brought some fruit. And Yui, don't exaggerate of how you managed to do a German Suplex on Otonashi, okay?"

"Uhh..." Otonashi sighed.

"I actually did a German Suplex! I almost made him lose conscience because I couldn't do a proper bridge! Right, senpai?"

"Too true..." Otonashi said.

"Keep dreaming you'll get your legs back. They might come before you know it."

"Okay!" Otonashi accepted the plate from Yui's mother and set it on the desk. Hinata took one, and stuck one in Yui's mouth on her request. "Where's Tenshi now?"

"Resting. Angel Player was pretty brutal on her. I'll bring her tomorrow if you want to know her better."

"Then she can apologize for stealing my guitar."

"And for finding out GirlDeMo's weak spot, and for saying that you performed horribly," laughed Hinata.

"That too! And she isn't as gullible as Yuri thought she was, is she?"

"Well, not in the least... she saw through High Tension Syndrome from the very start." Otonashi laughed. "Not being able to get anything in your stomach for a week of fasting isn't worth it... just because of turnips."

"Yurippe does make the perfect villain, does she?" Hinata asked.

"I don't know actually. She was bent on trying to pay God with what she experienced, the ripping of her entire life in thirty minutes. In other terms, I guess she'll make the perfect villain."

"She would." Otonashi picked up an orange from the plate and put it into his mouth. "She kicked Hinata down a hole once."

"Pitfall with spikes," Hinata confirmed. "And I even can't believe she let you off the hook before you climbed over."

"Let Otonashi off the hook for what, Senpai?" Yui asked.

"Nothing!" Otonashi and Hinata said at the same time. "Theres no need to get into detail!"

Yui looked confused. At that moment, Yui's mother came in to retrieve the dish. "I need to give Yui her bath now," she said.

"Oh," Otonashi said. "Then I guess I'll go now. See ya, Hinata. Yui."

"Bye, Otonashi!" Yui said.

"Take care of Kanade now," Hinata said. "We can't have her being crippled after what she did." Otonashi nodded as he made his way to the front door and back to his house. The sun was about to set. He sighed as he remembered the evening back in Second Chance. Not only did he beat a billionth of a percent, but he beat it four times in a row. And he saved a life, for the first time...

_Kanade saved Hinata, you idiot!_ Otonashi told himself. _All you did was tell her to act..._

_No... I'm not supposed to blame myself..._ he reminded himself. _It was Kanade's choice to risk any effects of using the Guard Skill abilities in a different environment..._ Otonashi walked into the porch but instead of unlocking the door, he bruised his knuckles by punching the plaster pillar. _But why couldn't I have been more prepared..._ He shuddered once before going to unlock the door.

He walked up the stairs to his room, in which he saw Kanade with the laptop on her lap. She was tapping away on the laptop when Otonashi walked in. "You're feeling better, now?" he asked.

Kanade looked up. "Well, it seems so." She turned the screen so Otonashi could see. "I had read the Angel Player manual enough to figure out what was going on. It says that those that have experienced the effects of Angel Player will retain its effects in the user, but with a side note. When the _Angel Player_ abilities that enhance the body are harnessed, they will experience the stress on their body for how much strength was used."

"So we just have to retain from activating overdrive, right?" Otonashi asked. _Actually, I'm just surprised she can read English..._

"I've tried all of my skills - except for _wings _and _sonic rotation_ as for the lack of room - and they only just tired me slightly. But when _harmonics - absorb_ happened, I felt like how I was before activating it."

"So the ability aftermath varies between each ability?"

Kanade nodded. She put the computer back on the desk, then let her head fall back onto the pillow. "I feel so tired still..."

"You can stay here at my house if you want," Otonashi offered. "Then we could go visit Yui tomorrow morning. Oh... tomorrow's school... well, after school?"

"I guess that could work. But wouldn't she try to kill me the moment I stepped into her room?"

"Yui's paralyzed from the neck down. She can't move, except for doing things with her head." Otonashi smiled. "I'm going to cook ramen for dinner. I don't know what else to cook, unless you want take-out."

"I'll just have the bowl of ramen. _Mapo Tofu_ is for special occasions... and I can have dinner in your bed?"

Otonashi thought over it. "I guess you can. Given that you're recovering and all... why not?" Kanade smiled as Otonashi made his way down the stairs.

At the kitchen, Otonashi went through the pantry until he found two ramen packs. He then retrieved a pot, put water into it, and put it on a stove to boil. He took some vegetables and separated them into individual shoots. He threw them in when the water went to a boil.

Otonashi then went to a cabinet to get two large bowls, in which he put the veggies when they were done simmering. Then the ramen went in, being mixed around slowly with a pair of chopsticks, which was heaved out with a straining laddle. Otonashi divided the ramen into the bowls, adding water and the soup base seasoning.

_I used to not have the patience to even cook a meal for myself..._ Otonashi thought. _So this is what they call peace, right? This relief from rushing daily life?_ Otonashi opened a drawer and brought out two pairs of chopsticks, setting them on each of the bowls. He then took the cutting board, wiped it down, and brought the cutting board with the two bowls on it and brought that upstairs.

Otonashi entered his room with Kanade still in bed. She was staring out the window with her head still on the pillow, watching the sun into the horizon. Otonashi set the bowls on the desk, next to the laptop. He placed one of the bowls onto the desk and handed Kanade the bowl with the cutting board. "The only flavor soup base I could find was shrimp," Otonashi admitted.

Kanade looked at him, then the ramen, contemplating how it would taste. She slowly took the chopsticks and brought a few strands into her mouth, chewing slowly. "It's rather good," she commented. "I never knew you can cook well."

"I didn't know either," Otonashi commented. "But I guess I can cook better when I am able to concentrate, right?"

Kanade nodded again as she toom another mouthful, slurping the ramen noodles into her mouth, the droplets of soup falling onto the cutting board.

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><p><strong>AN: Thanks for taking your time to read. Read and Review!<strong>

**-1caiser**


	7. Robber Versus Angel

**To Live Life Fully**

**Chapter 6: Robber Versus Angel**

Disclaimer: _Angel Beats!_'s characters, setting, and plot do not belong to me. Even Mazui's subs, to which I have his subs extracted to form this FF.

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><p>Otonashi woke up with a startle. He glanced at the clock, which showed the time at 3:42 am. He put his head back onto the pillow that rested his head, willing for sleep.<p>

He heard a voice from downstairs. He got up and peeked through the window blinds, seeing that a dark van was parked at his front door. A dark figure moved in the shadows, a glint appearing from something in his hands. Otonashi recognized it right away; he had seen it before.

_A gun..._ he concluded. _Oh God, save me... robbers..._ Otonashi did the unthinkable. He went downstairs, silent as a mouse, and watched the door. The voices came from behind it.

"What do you think we'll get from these lowlifes?" a husky voice asked. "What kind of cash are we gonna get?"

"Well, this area is a very high leading money mine," whispered another voice. "Besides, you know the boss. He sent us here to get this kid's medical checks of twenty-thousand yen a week! Do you realize how much is that?"

"Whatever. Concentrate on picking the lock. Don't want them to wake up, right?"

Otonashi's heart skipped a beat. A wave of dread enveloped him. _Robbers... why, of all people..._ Otonashi calculated the odds, two grown men with guns against a medical student. How can he fight guns with nothing more than a few kitchen items? Besides, throwing butcher knives would be too easy to dodge, given his skill, and he never tried taking blades into battle. _I wish I still had my Glock 17... or at least even having Noda here would be great... and Kanade is still asleep..._

Otonashi dove into the kitchen and into the pantry just as the door clicked, and it swung open. Through the crack, he saw two people come in with skiing masks, both carrying pistols, one a Walter 92, while the other held a Beretta 92.

_Good job, now you can't get away,_ Otonashi told himself. _One false movement and one loud breath will blow your movement until they leave. Good job, you stupid idiot.._

Otonashi tried to keep his breathing at a minimum volume, but it was hard to do when they scoured through empty drawers and sifted through bookshelves. He tried not to breathe entirely as they entered the kitchen. They looked through the drawers there, but found nothing.

"This place... there's no money anywhere... shouldn't we just go to that Nakamura household boss told us about? Even though we go on Wednesday?"

"We haven't searched top-bottom. Upstairs first.. Let's get this done quick." Otonashi tried to stifle a gasp, but he already was too loud. "Who's there?" the man shouted.

"Something up?"

"Someone's hiding." The man readied his Walter, aiming in front of himself.

_Good job. You just had to gasp. You have successfully given yourself a death wish, congratulations. Say goodbye to your future._ Otonashi shivered, then accidentally stepped backward... the sound of cracking cellophane erupting from his foot. _Dammit, you idiot!_ The sound of footsteps came closer and closer, and Otonashi could only wait. And wait. And wait... The silence made him that Shiina could be waiting in the shadows, and could hear her voice clearly:

"How shallow-minded."

The door flung open and Otonashi was pushed to the ground, the cold barrel of the gun pushed into his hair. He barely had time to register the pain. "This guy was hiding in the pantry," he told his colleague.

"We'll interrogate him then. So, what's going on, on this fine early morning?" he asked Otonashi.

"Well," Otonashi said, trying to be cool in the moment of peril, "it's getting kind of cold here with the front door open. How about you two?"

"You are not allowed to ask questions," the man answered. He took a bullet out of his pistol and showed it to Otonashi. "Or this little guy will crack your skull in two." Otonashi winced. He then saw Kanade at the stairs, her golden eyes signaling fear and despair.

The words came out before Otonashi knew what he was doing. "Kanade! Run!"

"Who?" the robber looked up, seeing that Kanade had put herself in the open.

"Don't shoot," she cautioned in a menacing tone, "and release the boy if you value your lives." It was the same commanding tone that told him and the SSS members to go to class in Afterlife.

"And who's the guy with the gun?" the man taunted. "You can't even make a move to save your boyfriend here." That made Kanade flinch. "Now do as we say, or Orange dies."

Kanade looked straight into Otonashi's eyes. They seemed to tell him to get ready. Otonashi didn't know what would have happened, but accepted it with a wink. The two men had aimed their guns at the girl.

Kanade opened her mouth, her voice splitting into two different voices, one human, one electronic: "Guard Skill - _distortion_." The robbers looked confused as a layer of cells enveloped Kanade as the skill took effect. "Guard Skill - _hand sonic_." The sword appeared from her right wrist. Then she lunged forward.

When the sword manifested itself, Otonashi brought his leg back into what school PE told him to do as a butt-kick. His heel connected into the man's back, the sudden pain causing him to drop his gun. The man with the Beretta pulled the trigger, but bounced off Kanade's _distortion_ into a window, causing the glass to shatter into a hundred pieces.

"What the-" he said, about to pull the trigger again, but Kanade had already sliced the gun in half, the barrel part clattering onto the floor. Otonashi hit the man's Walter away, causing it to skid into the shadows.

"What are you...?" the man growled, throwing the gun handle aside. He launched an uppercut at Kanade, and right when it was about to connect...

"Guard Skill - _delay_." An afterimage separated from Kanade, and the man's hand passed through it. Kanade brought her hand sonic in an upward fashion, causing a rivet of blood to flow out. The man howled in pain, starting to unleash his rage on Kanade. In the distance, a police car siren sounded, and a man outside said, "Fall back! We can't be caught!" His partner hesitated, but jumped into the van outside, and they sped out of sight, a trail of blood following the man as he tried to staunch the bleeding.

Otonashi looked at Kanade. She bore the same emotionless face, just as when she was first shot by him, during Afterlife. "Release," she commanded, her _hand sonic_ vanishing, and her _distortion_ dissipating.

The police car came at Otonashi's front door ten seconds later. He came armed with a Beretta M9 pistol, when he saw that there was nobody except Kanade and Otonashi, he showed his badge and said, "Constable Fujiwari reporting. What happened here?"

"Robbers," Otonashi said, "they were looking for money."

"Did you see where they went?" The officer helped Otonashi to his feet.

"They were in some big, black van, but they didn't leave the complex, as far as I know." Otonashi pointed at the pieces of the Beretta 92. "You don't suppose that my house will become a crime scene, right?"

"It is likely, but maybe not. These pieces of evidence will be taken back to headquarters. We can track the crooks like that." The officer pulled on gloves and stowed the Beretta pieces inside a bag labeled "Evidence". He then took a cotton swab and dipped it in the small puddle of blood, putting that in another "Evidence" bag.

"Are you okay, Kanade?" Otonashi asked. She was teetering, as if dizzy. She fell again, Otonashi being able to catch her. She was breathing peacefully - she had fallen asleep. "Just goes out like that..."

"I will have a delivery for your window soon," the officer said, saying some words into his walkie-talkie. "I guess that's the only thing that got stolen, right?"

"Actually, they shot it by accident," Otonashi said, lifting Kanade and hefting her onto his back. "The window was destroyed when she caused the wielder to flinch and shoot outside. That's what caused your arrival, right?" Otonashi wanted to admit _Angel Player_ and Kanade's _distortion_ ability, but it would have either have been no use... or she would be put up for inspection by scientists.

"You were fortunate. Most officers on road duty don't pay attention to those kind of things." The officer stowed his walkie-talkie away. "If you happen to fall asleep, I'm guessing the delivery men will have you pay a bit extra for installation. Good night."

"Thanks," Otonashi replied. The officer walked away, closing the door behind him Otonashi stepped forward to lock the door, but stared at the small puddle of blood lying on the ground.

_Why does this seem so familiar...?_ he asked himself. _Wait... that robber said 'Nakamura'..._

Otonashi cursed under his breath as he turned heel and walked up the stairs. He knew only one person with the name Nakamura. And that was...

"Yuri," Otonashi said. "Yuri is the next target. And it's in two days..."

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><p><strong>AN: I've been trying to find the time to continue, through school work and other things. I have the ending figured out, but I just need everything to be pieced together. Thanks for reading, and thank you to all who have reviewed!**


	8. Incomplete Event

**To Live Life Fully**

Chapter 7: Incomplete Event

Disclaimer: Angel Beats!'s characters, setting, and plot do not belong to me. Even Mazui's subs, to which I have his subs extracted to form this FF.

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><p>Otonashi went to sleep on the floor after the supposed robbery. He couldn't find sleep, as part of the events that night, while the other was Yuri. The leader of the Afterlife Warfront; and the first person he met there. Otonashi turned over in his covers. He heard the delivery men arrive, but he let them install the windows. No big deal in using a bit more yen. He still acquired the medical payment check, as would be mailed over the next morning.<p>

It was 6:15 am, and Otonashi was still wide awake. He heard the rustling of covers somewhere above him, accompanied by the sound of someone yawning. Kanade rose and stretched the tiredness from her limbs. She spun around that her legs hung down from the bed and looked down at Otonashi and said, "Good morning."

"I've been thinking... the robbers from last night. They said something about raiding Yuri's house on Wednesday. There's no school that day, is there?"

"It's a furlough day," Kanade confirmed after a brief thinking pause. "What are you planning to do? Stop her siblings' deaths? If so, how are you going to do that? The only way would be to kill the robbers. And I doubt we would want to do that."

"Then we would somehow stall the robbers for thirty minutes... until the police come. But that would be too long... besides, how will be be able to keep them stalled?"

Kanade shrugged her arms. "I don't know. I'll probably be able to figure things out at school. Is there a taxi or bus that goes to Shibuya High?"

"If I remember right, one goes by at 7:15 am, but I haven't actually checked. It sounds right though."

"I feel so dirty... I wish I brought some new clothes over..."

Otonashi felt himself in a predicament. First of all, he wanted to help Kanade again, but at the same time, never realized what female clothes were like. Which was wonderful: trying to preserve some dignity... "I would know how to help..." he said, "put the clothes in the dryer and set to freshen up."

Kanade tilted her head. "I should have just brought another set of clothes. Wearing the same set for two days in a row doesn't seem right, but I'll just have to make do... there's a blow-dryer, right?"

"In the drawers. I'll prepare a breakfast while you're in the shower then. Extra towels would be in the cabinets."

Kanade nodded. She lowered herself from the bed and stepped around Otonashi to prevent stepping on his legs. The sound of a door closing signaled her disappearance into the bathroom. Otonashi smiled thoughtfully as he got up. _That girl..._ Then he got up and got himself ready. He contemplated only making a bowl of cereal at first, but decided making a breakfast consisting of a few pancakes marinated with a slight layer of _Sriracha_ hot sauce decorated as a swirl, adding maple syrup on the side. He fixed up a cup of milk to accompany it, as well as a few tangerine slices. He then put a butter knife and a fork as eating utensils.

Kanade came down at around 6:45, about twenty-five minutes since she took her shower. She looked at the table while Otonashi sat at the table with his head lying on the table. "You did this?" she asked.

"I found the time," Otonashi said. "I found pancakes in the back of the refrigerator, the maple syrup in the cabinets, and decided to add some spicy flavor to the pancakes. I put fruit there as to accommodate the fruit serving, but no one eats meat or vegetables in the morning."

"Thanks..." Kanade said. She sat down, took the knife and fork and cut herself a piece of the pancake. She looked at it, as if trying to imagine the flavor, and popped it into her mouth. "It's good."

"I never really paid much attention to my cooking..." admitted Otonashi, "but I guess I was actually eating good stuff..."

Kanade had finished her first pancake was now helping herself to her second one. Her cup of milk was reduced by a third. A portion of the tangerines were missing. It was five minutes until her plates were completely devoid of food.

"Do you need me to bring you to the taxi stop?" Otonashi asked. "It is generally closer to the complex than the bus stop."

"I can look for it," Kanade said. She stood up and retrieved her handbag, which was near the piano, and slung it over her shoulder. "Thanks for letting me stay with you."

"It feels good to know you're with me again." Kanade went around the table and hugged Otonashi before exiting through the door. Otonashi brought the dishes to the sink, then putting them in the dishwasher to dry. He then walked over to where the Walter lay, where he had kicked it last night; between a plant pot and a cabinet.

_It's quiet again,_ Otonashi thought, putting the gun on the table. _Reality is too quiet... I enjoyed Afterlife better than this - I had things to actually do, to stroll about, and to watch the NPCs attend to their class. Hell, I could have gone to class if I__ wanted to..._ Otonashi walked to the couch and stared at the piano, which was directly in front of him. The sheet music of _Brave Song_ and its lyrics were still there. But from between the pages, he saw some writing, and had never seen it before. He walked to the piano and inspected the message. The kanji wrote: Composition Folder: Finish new song.

Otonashi looked at the message and blinked. _That's right... Hatsune wanted to compose music for those anime when she grew up... but because of her illness, she wasn't able to do that._ Otonashi looked into the sky. _Could she be in Afterlife right now? Could she have made her way there, or did she pass on? There's so much I wanted to know... how is Hatsune?_

Otonashi sighed as he opened the piano bench and brought out the green folder marked "Composition Folder". The last tab was a sheet of music staves, only part written. The title line was blank. Otonashi did not know how to play the piano, but he knew enough as a beginner. He read the notes on the lines marked by the treble clef, one of the few things Hatsune was able to teach him. He played the tune out with one finger, the simple tune making him feel worthlessness and weakness. When he finished, that's what he felt inside.

Otonashi sighed. He wished for his sister's words to explain the meaning of her piece. It started out sad, so was it meant to end sad? Or was it to spark up again?

_This song... it describes the struggle that the SSS went through. We were first hopeless against Tenshi, but we befriended her into a powerful ally and friend. The start of this song... it's similar to what the SSS went through. It came back to life..._

Otonashi knew how it would have sounded out, but he knew nothing of music transcribing. Otonashi sighed as he just played the tune over and over again. _I might as well go check on Yui, possibly even Hinata if he's there, since I have nothing better to do..._

Otonashi forsook the piano and walked out the door, locking it behind him. He checked the mailbox, which was the bill for replacing the window. He put it back into the mailbox after looking over the price. He then strolled across the street to where Yui's house was.

He pressed the doorbell, to be answered by Yui's mom again. "Hinata said he had to attend school," she said. "Have you come to accompany Yui?"

"Yeah," Otonashi said. "Kanade went to school too, and I don't have much to do at home alone."

"Yui just had breakfast, and she was about to get bored as well." Yui's mother smiled. "I guess the two of you can figure something out." Otonashi kicked off his shoes and walked up the stairs. Yui's room was open as always, a beam of sunlight shining through. Yui was looking out the window, either watching the clouds in the sky or the possible airplane flying by. The window was replaced with a new sheet of glass. On a shelf was the somewhat tattered baseball on a folded piece of cloth.

"Good morning, Yui," Otonashi said.

Yui whirled around and cried out, "Senpai! You came to visit?"

"Well, Kanade and Hinata went to school, so I guess I'm the only one that can visit, right?"

"That's what I know. Can you turn the TV onto Channel 64?" Otonashi blinked once before he located the TV and turned it on, abiding by Yui's request, then pulled a chair and sat backwards in it.

Some anime came up, the title being _Clannad_. He obviously didn't know anything about the anime, except that Yui enjoyed it. Otonashi decided to watch it with Yui, despite what misunderstanding would pop up. Yui seemed so immersed in it that Otonashi decided it wasn't time to speak and then interrupt Yui's watching experience.

It was only during the commercial break that Yui spoke up. "I started watching _Clannad_ about two weeks ago," she said. "I think it was after an episode that I think I fell asleep or fell into a coma to arrive into Afterlife. I woke up immediately after Hinata told me that he would beat the odds for me, and I had been waiting two weeks for it to happen. Then when I saw that baseball come flying through my window, all I knew is that Hinata remembered." Yui's eyes became glassy as they filled with tears. "Can you wipe my eyes, Senpai?"

"I can," Otonashi said, taking a tissue from a nearby tissue box and dabbing Yui's eyes dry.

"Yesterday was fun. Hinata and I had a remembrance conversation, about what happened between the two of us. He also explained to me who Naoi was." Yui giggled. "I think he was more villainous than Tenshi - err, I mean... Kanade... she's not an angel, isn't she?"

"She was just an ordinary person like us. Yuri withheld that information from us, that she knew the whole time. But why?"

"I'm going to have to say that we'll have to ask her."

Otonashi sighed. _If it comes that day that we can protect her and her siblings._ "How did you come to terms with Hinata? I mean, in Afterlife, you two looked as if you two hated each other or something. How do you like him now?"

Yui looked at the hands that she had no control over. "Well, it was one of those things you can't really explain. Upon coming back to reality, even I kinda quieted down, despite my nature in Afterlife. I couldn't move my hands or my legs. It had been bothering me since.

"But Hinata told me - he would beat the odds of life and marry me, if this is what he means. And it turned out that we were closer than we thought... he helps me when I felt sad. He was there for me to feel better of myself. And you know everything he said in Afterlife." In the background, _Clannad_ came back on, but no one paid any close attention to it. "He said even if couldn't stand, walk or even have children, he would still marry me... I guess love is blindsided, right?"

"You can't put it that way," Otonashi said. "Love... is a hard thing to explain. You like someone and you want to spend time with that person, up to the point you would do anything for him or her. Love isn't blind, and I'm not a therapist."

Yui giggled. "What was the last part for, Senpai?"

"It was the truth," Otonashi said. "I don't know all the things of love, but it shouldn't be seen as blind. It's like you want to everything you can do for someone, you care about their well-being."

"I understand... but you know how he is - always acting as he's trying to make people happy in some way." Yui smiled. "He makes me happy just by coming through the door. But that won't happen until some six hours when he is dismissed from school. Hey, senpai, why aren't you at school?"

"I'm a college student," Otonashi said. "Well, I kinda missed the entrance exam, so I guess I'm not a student at all, until May twentieth or so..."

Yui stayed silent, turning her head to the TV. Otonashi checked the time: 8:12 am. He hadn't been there long, and knew that it was going to be some time that Kanade or Hinata was dismissed. There wasn't much to do anyway.

Otonashi sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "It's boring by yourself, isn't it? To be without something to work on or do - it has to be kind of calm, right?"

"It is... I sit in bed doing the same routine every time: wake up, call mom to bring me to the bathroom, brush teeth and wash face, fix hair, eat breakfast, watch TV, go to bathroom, eat lunch, watch TV or outside, go to bathroom, take a nap, wake up and watch TV, go to bathroom, take a bath, eat dinner, watch TV and sunset, go to bathroom, brush teeth and wash face, and then go to sleep. It's the same routine every day. Since I don't go outside, I don't have any friends. If I had friends, they might have already left me because I can only have a conversation with them, or watch them do something. It's sometimes depressing."

Otonashi could relate. "After Hatsune died, I spent the rest of my life trying to become a doctor. I studied hard in those classes, unlike before Hatsune died; I actually paid attention, did the work, and minded the lesson. But now that I missed the entrance exam, life slowed down. Afterlife was good enough since I had something to do, from practicing firing a gun, attending a class, or even just talking to Hinata. Even watching Naoi use his hypnosis on the NPCs was considered fun."

"You had a sister?" Yui asked. "I didn't know."

"I never mentioned her, even after I regained my memories. There was no need to. But now, my life is kind of dedicated to looking for the few friends I had made in Afterlife." Otonashi smiled. "So far, I found three."

Yui sighed. "Then that goes the same for me," she said, releasing a hopeful sigh. "Tenshi, uhh, I mean Kanade, then you and Hinata. But what about Iwasasa, Yuri, and the others?"

"I don't know," Otonashi said. "But if you want, I can go look for Iwasasa for you."

"Really?" Yui asked. "Thank you! Tell her I said hi, will you?"

"I'll be sure to. I'll go now, okay?"

"Later, senpai!"

Otonashi rose from his seat and walked out the door, sending his salutations to Yui's mom as she passed by. After closing the door behind him, he stopped in his tracks. He looked up at the cloudy sky, thinking about the GirlDeMo vocalist. _Is she still bedridden, or is she up and walking around? There has been too much on my mi__nd lately..._

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><p><strong>AN: Thanks for reading/enjoying Chapter 7. Lack of idea to forward plot, taking a detour. Please disregard a change of writing if noticed. **

**Also, _Clannad _will take a minor role, but if you hadn't bothered to watch the episodes, I would suggest you watch it. It is also produced by _Key_ and Jun Maeda, and is similar to _Angel Beats!_ except that it is more of a reality.**

**Thank you!**

**-1caiser**


	9. Half Dead Life

**To Live Life Fully**

**Chapter 8: Nature Walk in a Morgue**

Disclaimer: Angel Beats!'s characters, setting, and plot do not belong to me. Even Mazui's subs, to which I have his subs extracted to form this FF.

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><p>Otonashi rode on the bus that brought him from the Shibuya Department Store, the place where he reunited with Kanade. The bus wasn't as crowded as it was last time, but it still felt a bit lonely. He went to the seat behind a person who was snoozing in his sleep. His presence felt somewhat familiar,as if he had been around that person before, except for the fact Otonashi could not put his finger on who it would be.<p>

Otonashi slumped in the seat, sighing once. He felt a small jolt as the bus moved forward, heading onto the highway. Otonashi pulled out his fully-charged phone. 8:34 am. Still too early, Kanade and Hinata had been in school for about an hour... and the teacher hearing the ringtone in class would result in confiscation of the device...

Otonashi stowed the phone into his pocket and aimlessly watched the cars zoom by. He decided then it was time to take a nap.

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><p><em>"What, is this an elementary school?" Hinata asked to no one in particular. "All we do is take on more brats."<em>

_The dark-haired, yellow-eyed Student Council Vice President looked up from the small handbook he was reading. "Are you talking to me, scum?" he asked Hinata. "I am your God."_

_"What? You still on about that?" Hinata smirked as he continued, "you were clinging to Otonashi and crying like a baby."_

_"Who was crying?" the boy asked, looming closer to Hinata, who realized he was closer to him than he thought, then recoiled as the Vice President spoke, "The one crying will be you." With his uncanny power of Hypnotism, he commanded, "Now... you will realize the greatness in clothespins, and in comparison; your worthlessness and despair." His eyes glowed red during the ordeal as he inched closer into Hinata's face._

_Hinata looked over to the coffee table where the Vice President threw down a clothespin, pink in color. "A... clothespin..." he said. "You pin it..." Hinata gestured his hands into making a claw, his face blanched in disbelief, his entire body trembling. "You pin it and it doesn't fall! The laundry stays clean! So beautiful!" Hinata grasped his head as he went on rambling, "You could use it instead of a paper clip or just about anything else, I'm nothing compared to it!" Hinata clenched his head tightly, as if he was going to rip it off somehow. "I'm so worthless!"_

_The boy had returned to reading his book, to which Otonashi raised his a few inches off the couch with a pull on the back of his collar. "Hey," he said, "don't use hypnotism to fight back."_

_"There's no hope for me at all!" Hinata was saying. He had turned around, crouched onto the wood floor and started to pound on the couch while he buried his face in his other arm. "Why me, why me, why me?"_

_"Otonashi!" the boy said, "good morning!" His expression was completely opposite to that with his exchange with Hinata._

_"What did you do to him?" The two of them glanced at Hinata._

_"He came at me first. I tried to be gentle."_

_"What part of that is gentle? You have a grown man on his knees crying like a baby." They could not do anything until the hypnotism wore off, but Yuri called them over to the side..._

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><p>Otonashi woke up just as the bus came to a halt. <em>Another memory from Afterlife...<em> he thought. _I remember most of the things I dreamed about in the hospital... the first being Noda, the second was the SSS ditching Kanade's test, the third being the distractions of the rocket desks. Fourth came the rogue _harmonics_ clones, then fifth: the battle with the shadows. And sixth, our final leave..._

"I don't have to pay a fare," a voice at the front said in a commanding tone. "Instead, you can waive the fee from me."

"Okay," said the voice of a grown-up, "I guess I can waive the fee this one time."

Otonashi rose from his seat. He heard that voice before - that commanding tone. There was no way he could have missed it. He went to the driver, dropped in his fare, and exited the bus just as the boy did. On the curb, Otonashi put a hand on the boy's shoulder and said, "How's it going, Naoi?"

The boy stopped. "No, it can't be... you..." he said, his voice breaking as he finished. The boy turned around, slowly facing Otonashi with his yellow eyes. "Otonashi...?"

"So God," Otonashi said with a smile. "Long time no see." How are you?"

Naoi looked up at Otonashi with tearful eyes. "It has been too long... and we meet in that six-billionth of a chance so easily?"

"Hey, Kanade, Hinata, and Yui are also here. Err, Yui's the second vocalist for the Afterlife GirlsDeMo, remember?"

Naoi returned to his cooler expression as he heard Hinata's name. "Scum's alive? May as well finish what I wanted to do beforehand..."

"Not toilet paper now, is it?" Otonashi asked resignedly. "Why do you guys like to barrel on each other so much?"

"He came at me first. I try to be gentle."

"There's nothing gentle in having a grown man crying like a baby. Didn't I tell you that you can't use hypnotism as a weapon... wait..."

"Otonashi?"

"Actually, I'll let the weapon thing slip for just once, because I need it for something."

"The grin tells me that you're thinking of something I'm not supposed to know. No way, you want me to use hypnotism to hook you up with _Tenshi_?"

Otonashi bumped Naoi on the head with his fist. "Get your mind out of the gutter. Kanade already spends time with me. No, for payment of almost 'killing' Yuri, you're going to save her life."

"How am I going to do that?" Naoi asked. "Besides, do I even use hypnosis on her?"

"No, you'll do that against three grown men. Robbers, to be exact."

Naoi flinched in disbelief. "Three robbers... but won't they shoot me? And I die and die there? Then somehow go back to Afterlife or something because I didn't get to achieve anything, or I go to Heaven or Hell? Of course they'll shoot me! But I don't wanna die!" Naoi helplessly buried his face in Otonashi's green denim jacket, but without the hug.

Otonashi looked down on Naoi's crying form and patted his shoulders. "I'm going to be there too, you know. Also, Kanade will help protect you if you are going to be shot. I won't let anything happen to my friends."

Naoi looked up. "Friends... that's why you care? Friendship?"

"Hey, they're the ones who give you meaning. You help them, they'll help you. It works out in the end, you know, a bit of sympathy for both. So will you help me?"

Naoi wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "I'll do it," he said.

"Anyway, why are you at _10Q LL Angel_, anyway?"

"Well, _10Q LL Angel_ is the closest bus stop to the hospital. You're going there too?"

"Yeah... I'm meeting the girl who performed over the loudspeakers in the school one night. Masami was her name."

"Well, my father's being treated by the doctors. They say he's getting better, then I'll resume my pottery training. That's a good thing, is it?"

Otonashi nodded. They started walking down the street to the Haramishi Hospital. "I have something to say: when you're raising the bowl, do you maintain that high speed when you're making the cylinder?"

"Well, yeah..."

"You should slow it down, or your hands will catch the bowl and it'll deform. Slow the speed as you finish, and it'll come out nice." Otonashi sighed. "I learned a bit of pottery in Physics. The teacher used to be a potter until he retired it to a part-time activity."

"Oh, I see." Otonashi and Naoi walked through the double sliding doors of the hospital. The receptionist looked at Otonashi, recognizing him.

"Welcome back, Otonashi Yuzuru," she said, "you're feeling okay, right?"

"Better than most," Otonashi replied. "I want to visit a patient. Masami Iwasawa?"

The receptionist typed the name into the computer. "Room 27A. Apparently, another person is visiting her and hasn't checked out yet. Do you still wish to go?"

"Yes. Thank you." Otonashi sighed the visitor's form and was exchanged with a sticker that said 'I'm a visitor, my name is...'. Otonashi borrowed a pen and scratched in his name. "Well, this is it," Otonashi said to Naoi. "I'll see you later?"

Naoi nodded. He gave Otonashi a piece of paper, ten numbers on it. "Call me when you need me," Naoi said. "I'll be waiting." Otonashi nodded his head as he entered the elevator, the doors closing a few seconds after he hit the button labeled '2'.

At the designated floor, he could recognize the hallway, the one he had walked through when he was admitted to leave. He saw that his room was just across from Iwasawa's room, Room 27A. He could hear a familiar voice coming from inside.

Otonashi knocked on the door before entering. There, a brown-haired girl was sitting on a stool while she held Iwasawa's hand. Her face was blank, a condition from her brain contusion. The brown-haired girl turned around, looking at Otonashi, her blue eyes staring into him. An Afterlife pendant hung from her neck.

"Hisako," Otonashi said.

"Otonashi?" she asked. "I'm going to say the mission was done? With the shadows?"

Otonashi nodded. "How is Iwasawa?"

"I told her to communicate through blinks," Hisako said. "Say hi." Iwasawa blinked three times in rapid succession. "Unfortunately, she can only answer yes and no questions."

Otonashi nodded again. "You're feeling okay, Iwasawa?" The girl blinked once. _No._ "Are you bored?" Iwasawa blinked twice. _Yes._ "What did the doctors say about your condition?" Iwasawa's eyes did not move._ That isn't a yes or no question._ "Can you still write music?" _Yes._

Hisako smiled as she huffed out a breath of air. "Iwasawa hopes to continue writing music. She answered yes when I asked her about music notes sounding in her head. She can help you."

"That's great," Otonashi answered. To Iwasawa, he said, "I met Yui, Hinata, Naoi, and Kanade from Afterlife."

Iwasawa blinked rapidly, with quick and prolonged blinks. "Who is... after two?" Hisako asked. Iwasawa blinked twice. _Yes._ "Who are the last two?" _Yes._ "Morse code is so frustrating..." Hisako muttered.

"Naoi was the Student Council Vice President, and you'll know Kanade as Tenshi."

Iwasawa's eyes widened. "We befriended Tenshi," Hisako explained. "That's how the SSS members were able to come back..." Iwasawa's eyes softened. They blinked twice. Yes. Then they closed, no blinks. "She went to sleep," Hisako said. "Blinking actually makes you tired, especially if that's the only way you can communicate."

"I can tell," Otonashi replied. "So all Iwasawa does is stay in bed, watch whatever shows up on the TV, sleep, or blink-speak?"

"That's just about her life for the past three weeks. It had gotten really boring for her, more depressing is that the doctors told her that her brain could only work so fast, she can only make blinks, and other subtle movements. I say it's a sign that her brain's waking up."

"Yeah... it's very sad. But she thanked life for giving her a second chance to live, to fulfill what she wanted to do... all in just a second of her life. She could pass on at any moment she wanted now, if this was Afterlife..."

Hisako sighed. "If this was Afterlife, then everything might have changed. You said you met Yui?"

"Well, she's crippled, like Iwasawa. Hinata and her mom takes care of her though, but Hinata's at school right now."

Hisako laughed. "Both our vocalists are bedridden. Oh, how I wonder how Sekine and Irie are doing. For all we know, they may be bedridden too." She turned to the guitar case that was next to her, opened it and pulled out a clipboard and a blank piece of sheet music.

Otonashi checked the time on his watch: 12:47 am. _I could call Kanade if I wanted to,_ he thought. _But... the problem is... I don't have her phone number...!_ Otonashi sighed as he returned the phone to his pocket, but as he did it vibrated, and a strange yet satisfying tune filled the air.

Otonashi flipped open his phone as he made his way out the door. "Uh, hello?" He went to the end of the hall, standing next to a window.

"Yo, Otonashi!" came Hinata's voice through the receiver. "You'll never know what happened today!"

Otonashi became puzzled. "What happened? Of course I'll never know, since I don't go to school."

"Ah, that's right. Well, you know operation... wait, it didn't have a name... well, the operation where we ditched Kanade's test or something, that we have the same seats as we do now, from then!"

"Say again, I did not know what you were trying to say there."

"We have the same seats now as we did from Afterlife! Where the guy who called himself Christ, Takamatsu, and Oyama originally sat are empty! Does that mean something?"

"That some things from Afterlife transitioned to Reality?"

"No, we just got new seats. But that wasn't it! We met Yuri!"

"Keep it down," a voice said in the background.

"But she doesn't remember a thing about Shinda Sekai Sensen," Hinata said in a whisper. "Nothing. She first thought I was a stalker because I knew her name somehow."

"Then Kanade pulled you away?"

"Yep. We're sitting at the same table right now. You want to speak to her?"

"Sure."

There was a rustle as the phone was passed, and Kanade's voice answered, "Yuzuru?"

"Kanade, what do want to tell me?"

"Well, Hinata said everything there was to say. But I was called into a meeting, to which I learned I got elected for Student Council President. It's almost as if Afterlife just became Reality or something."

"It does seem like that..." Otonashi hummed. "Oh, I just remembered to say this - I just met Iwasawa, and I met Naoi along the street."

"Naoi... Ayato?" Kanade asked. "The one with hypnotism?"

"Yeah, him."

"The guy who called himself God?" Hinata's voice said in the background. "He lives in Shibuya too?"

"Shh!" Kanade told Hinata. "I am making a very important phone call." Kanade sighed. "How shallow-minded," she said, the voice nearly identical to Shiina's.

"I have to agree with you then," Otonashi said. "Anyway, grats on being chosen for Student Council President. Again."

"I hope no one ditches my tests though. I have straight A's right now... have you thought over what we should do with the robbers?"

"A bit. I told Naoi he could use his hypnosis power against them. He gave me his number."

"That's good. Just the three of us will do?"

"What, you're gonna go on vacation for the furlough day?" Hinata asked.

"We're going to save a person's life," Kanade told Hinata. "Please stop interrupting or I'll-"

"Stop," Otonashi said. "There is no need for threats..."

There was a brief silence, then Kanade said, "Sorry."

"When you're dismissed from school, take the taxi home, to my place. I'll be waiting on the baseball field. Got that?"

"I'll tell Hinata. See you there." There was a click as she hung up. Otonashi stowed his phone into his pocket as he sighed. "Two days until the Operation Leader Rescue..." Otonashi said to himself. He sat on the bench cushion and stared out into the Shibuya skyline. "Two days..."

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><p><strong>AN: Thanks for reading Chapter 8! Sorry for the long update!**

**Elements for the end are in place, but some more characters are still being introduced, including OCs. Thank you all for reviews, but the occasional reader is not forgotten.**

**-1caiser**


	10. Plans to Amend

**To Live Life Fully**

**Chapter 9: Plans to Amend**

Disclaimer: _Angel Beats!_'s characters, setting, and plot do not belong to me. Even Mazui's subs, to which I have his subs extracted to form this FF.

* * *

><p>Otonashi sat on the home plate of the now empty baseball field, staring up at the sky. It had been about ten minutes since he had called Naoi to meet him at the baseball field. Kanade and Hinata were bound to be there at any moment. He checked his phone for the time: 4:34 pm. School had been out for roughly an hour-and-fifteen minutes.<p>

A taxi drove by, two figures entering the complex. In due time, a car dropped off a boy at the east entrance of the park. Naoi was the first to arrive, where Kanade and Hinata came by half-a-minute later, running to the designated spot.

"So we begin Operation Leader's Rescue," Otonashi announced, rising to his feet and brushing off the dust. "On Wednesday, we arrive there by 4:45 pm, where we will wait for the robbers to come by. Kanade, did you get to enter the Student Roster to check on Yuri's address?"

Kanade nodded. "You can go in there?" Hinata cried out.

"I am the Student Council President," she said. "I actually have it on my school account. I didn't need to enter the attendance office. I found Naoi in there too."

"Why're you skipping school, Naoi?" Hinata asked sharply.

"Scum, I have better tasks to apprehend than your lowly classroom lives," Naoi answered. "My father is bedridden. Just now, it was a friend of my father's that brought me here."

Hinata frowned as he returned to listening Otonashi. "I have already thought out the plan." With a stick, he drew out the layout of Yuri's house, to which he tried to draw from how Yuri described it. "I'll be the first to breach, and I'll do so by entering through the back door or a window. When Yuri regains her memories; to which I don't know when, Kanade will jump in to disarm the robber. I'll disable the next robber, to which Naoi enters through the front door to cast hypnosis on the robbers." Otonashi turned to Naoi. "You must remember to tell them to turn themselves into the police."

"What if they shoot?" Naoi asked.

"I told you before; Kanade will protect you if they happen to aim at you. I'm allowing her to be able to maim the targets if they happen to foil with the plan, but I'm trying to rescue Yuri with the least amount of casualties."

"Otherwise, you could have just let me kill them," Kanade said.

"May as well be tried for homicide. That wouldn't be right, given your status as Student Council President. You have Yuri's address, don't you?" Kanade nodded her head. She pulled out a slip of paper and gave it to Otonashi. It read /8204 Aruita Complex Court, Shibuya City, Tokyo, Japan 38204/. Yuri's name was inscribed at the corner of the paper. "Now all we need is a GPS..."

"Uhh," Naoi said, "I live in Aruita, except I live in Aruita Complex /Drive/. I think /Court/ is on the other side of the park that I live near. I saw Yuri walk there from the bus, with her three siblings."

Otonashi nodded his head. "Hinata, do you have anything to add?"

"Well, I live on Drive..."

"Then why didn't you tell us, scum?" Naoi cried out.

"'cuz I have a baseball game that day. End of the season game." It was pure silence on the baseball field, except for the wind blowing through the trees, the zooming of cars, or the occasional chirping of a bird. "But I'll try to be there!" Hinata assured.

"Like you'll show up.." Naoi said, crossing his arms and closing his eyes. "You're not good for anything..."

"Why do you have to be so pessimistic?" Hinata said.

Naoi opened his eyes, them glowing blood red. "Hinata Hideki, you are a baseball bat. You will try to score a home run when a baseball is thrown at you. Your legs are the handle, so you will hit the baseball with your head..." Naoi closed his eyes as his command ended. Hinata went stiff, flat-faced. Naoi picked up a stray baseball near the home plate and prepared to toss it at Hinata.

"Stop," Otonashi said. "You don't need to give him a concussion."

Naoi frowned as he dropped the ball, then leaned against the ball fence. "Yes, Otonashi." From next to Otonashi, Kanade smiled. Otonashi went to Hinata and slapped the back of his head.

Out of his trance, Hinata stumbled forward. "Ow! What was that for?"

"That was for being a baseball bat," Otonashi replied.

Hinata frowned and casted a glare at Naoi. "You would..." he said quietly. "But I'll be at Yuri's house by then. The game starts at three o'clock. Even if we win and throw a celebration, I'll be able to make it in time."

Otonashi sighed. "The only words I can say are 'don't be late'. Meeting dismissed." Naoi rose from his position and walked away. He flagged down his father's friend's car, then rode away.

"I might as well go to Yui's house then," Hinata said. "There were tests today, and no homework on top of that." Hinata walked across the field, out of sight in a few minutes.

"Do you have anywhere to go?" Otonashi asked Kanade. She shook her head. "I have the same class as Hinata. There were tests, no homework. I had a feeling that I was supposed to answer the Physics test with what I wanted to be in the future, or answer my English tests with answers written in kanji lettering."

"Looks like demoralization from Afterlife came to you, right? You didn't happen to answer a three-point-oh volt question with a twenty omega resistor thingy, did you?"

"I answered forty-eight amps."

Otonashi relaxed. "That's what I got too." Afterlife really likes to mess with our heads..."

Kanade nodded. "I want to play to piano again."

"I guess I could also get a snack ready. You want to stay again?"

"My uncle said he's coming back in a few weeks, in May. So I guess I'll stay at your house for until he comes home. I went home to bring a few extra set of clothes, and other things I don't need to mention."

"Well... at least you don't have to go back and forth for things you need... Let's go then." They walked side-by-side across the field, up to the point to when Otonashi opened the door.

"What?" he said, "I forgot to lock the door?"

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the small chapter... I couldnt think of any else to type at this point other than to break at this point. Thanks for reading, thanks for enjoying! Read and Review!**

**-1caiser  
><strong>


	11. A Life Story

**To Live Life Fully  
><strong>

**Chapter 10: A Life Story**

Disclaimer: _Angel Beats!_'s characters, setting, and plot do not belong to me. Even Mazui's subs, to which I have his subs extracted to form this FF.

* * *

><p>While Kanade played on the piano, Otonashi decided to make ramen again, given that he had not yet went to the store. The accompanying music felt good to hear while Otonashi prepared the meal, as it added a taste of atmosphere throughout the house. When it was prepared, he called Kanade over to the meal table, where she sat with Otonashi and ate the noodles.<p>

"They're as good as last time," Kanade commented. "How do you cook so good?"

"Very carefully," Otonashi said. "I actually just have the patience to do so. Everything had been so frenetic over the past weeks, not to mention the month-in-a-millisecond lifetime in Afterlife. Things have settled for me, as of now..."

"But what about Yuri? Isn't she a big deal to think over?"

"I have everything thought over. You'll jump in to protect Yuri, I'll shoot away the guns, and Naoi uses hypnosis to make the robbers turn themselves in. Yuri's too important to have her life torn away from her a second time." Otonashi ate the last of his ramen, then took his and Kanade's empty bowl to the sink. "I just realized, you haven't met Yui yet. Do you want to go visit for a while?" Kanade nodded. "Then we could go to Hiramishi to meet Iwasasa, would you like that?"

Kanade nodded again. "We could have takeout _Mapo Tofu_ and have it for dinner!"

Otonashi chuckled. "Okay, we'll have _Mapo Tofu_ for dinner." Kanade went to get her shoes on as Otonashi rinsed the bowls and stowed them in the dishwasher. Kanade was out the door by the time Otonashi shoved his shoes on.

_Remember to lock the door,_ he told himself. The door responded with a click. Satisfied, Otonashi walked the way to Yui's house. Even though Kanade was somewhat far away, Otonashi could still hear her singing the tune of My Song. _Iwasasa would be very happy to hear that..._

Kanade waited for Otonashi at the porch. When he had arrived, she tapped the doorbell, then waited quietly. "Do I have to apologize to her for taking her guitar?" Kanade asked.

"If she demands it," Otonashi replied. "Either way, she can't do anything about it except if she tells Hinata to. Just delay or something, because this place isn't Afterlife anymore." Kanade nodded her head to show she understood.

The door swung open, then a voice, "Huh? Tenshi and Otonashi?" Otonashi looked to see a confused Hinata at the door.

"Yo," Otonashi said.

"Why is Tenshi standing behind you, looking as if she's scared?"

"It's the same thing as during our graduation ceremony - she's afraid of you. She hid behind Yuri when you complained about the Mapo Tofu segment, or saying what it was supposed to mention. Right, Kanade?" The girl looked up at Otonashi and nodded her head.

Hinata face-palmed. "Why do I get the hate all the time...? Anyway, the only reason you're here is to visit Yui, right?"

"I want to apologize for taking her guitar in Afterlife," Kanade admitted. "I also hope she doesn't hate me for doing it."

Hinata ushered the two inside, where Yui's mother was at the kitchen, reading a newspaper. Otonashi and Kanade followed Hinata up the stairs, to which they entered Yui's room. Yui was looking out the window, which Otonashi was unsure of what she was looking at.

"Yui," Hinata said, "Otonashi and Kanade came to visit."

"Kanade?" Yui asked, then saw Kanade. "Tenshi! What is she doing here?"

Kanade bowed and said, "Sorry for taking your guitar. Otonashi made me do it."

Yui became surprised. "It was to help me?"

"I fired a rock to help score your goal. That isn't enough?" Kanade rose from her stance.

Yui giggled. "You came to apologize? I was thinking you were just going to talk on how many times you killed the SSS members or something."

"When I stabbed Otonashi, he didn't have a heart." Otonashi stared at her when she said that.

This time, Hinata joined Yui's confusion. "Huh?"

"I had a heart transplant and Otonashi gave me his heart."

Otonashi sighed. "Okay, do I have to tell you my life story?"

"Yes!" the three said, except Kanade didn't answer with as much enthusiasm as Yui and Hinata.

Otonashi took a deep breath as he took the swivel chair and sat backwards in it. Everyone got comfortable as they prepared for the listening of Otonashi's background, and how he came to Afterlife. No one said anything. "Okay... so, it was some few weeks before Christmas. I had a job which involved me controlling traffic on a street. It paid very little, but it was enough to pay for my everyday needs. With the extra money, I would go to a bookstore, pick the first manga magazine that I saw, buy it, then give it to my little sister Hatsune.

"She was bedridden, because of some sickness that made her very weak. She had to stay at the hospital because of it. Whenever she received the manga, she would smile at me and say thank you. At the time, that thank you was enough for me to keep going on. So I would work harder for it, and always receive the thank you from Hatsune every time she got the manga.

"During Christmas, when the doctors wouldn't let her go out to see the Christmas lights, I snuck her out of the hospital so she could see them. She thanked me for it..." Otonashi felt tears come to his eyes, but wiped them away. "...and she died the next morning. The doctors couldn't handle the sickness, for some reason, and she left." Kanade stood up and started patting Otonashi on the shoulder.

He went on, "I felt no meaning to live after Hatsune left. But during one of my strolls around the city, I saw a child whom was discharged from the hospital, and she thanked the nurse whom took care of her. That's what I wanted: someone to thank me. It was all I ever needed to keep going.

"I experienced the first rebirth of my life. I went to school, studying medicine and the doctoring career. I went to school to study, receiving top marks in those classes. I received a scholarship to attend a medical college, to which... I went to take the entrance exam.

"You know the train accident from five days ago, when they finally found the survivors. The first thing that happened was this. I was waiting in Train Car six, looking at my ID. Then I felt a rumble, and everything went black. The lights went out, and the screams only lasted for a few seconds.

"I came to find myself in Afterlife, which I got stabbed by Kanade when I wasn't convinced that you couldn't die in there, since people there were already dead. After the _harmonics_ clones, Kanade was bedridden again, and I watched over her as she recovered." Otonashi wiped his eyes again. "Then I remembered. What I had forgotten and wandered to Afterlife.

"I was a survivor of the train accident. I looked at the wreckage of the ordeal, seeing all that I had planned out had been shattered. It was very dark, but there was enough light, from the plants that grew in the dark, to see. I helped a man, my first friend Igarashi, out of the train first. His forehead was bleeding, to which I made a tourniquet for. The two of us helped fifteen other survivors, seventeen including me and Igarashi. I was proclaimed the leader, because I knew medicine. Igarashi distributed food and water amongst the people. That was Day One.

Day Two was a bit more of a depression than having to stay alive. I went to the tunnel end, hoping to find a way out, but rubble had also blocked that area, and there was still no reception from my phone, and in addition, I learned I was suffering from internal bleeding. I relayed this message to the others, to hold out as long as we can until rescue comes, but I didn't tell them of my condition. Two people questioned this stall, and my leadership was formed.

Day Three came sluggishly. I woke up to the scream of a survivor, and I hurried to help one of the survivors. He had lost his breathing when he slept... I tried to save him... but... he was gone." Otonashi bit his lip to refuse the flow of tears. "I felt that feeling again, being powerless... and unable to control... the things in my hands... things that were... entrusted to me." Otonashi shook once, and Kanade patted his shoulder again.

"I was taking a nap, after I had cried myself to sleep after wrapping the dead man in bandages. I woke up to Igarashi yelling, which I saw the two traitors running with the water bag. I walked over just as Igarashi and another survivor pinned them down, bit not after two bottles of water had been wasted. The thieves said that there was no hope and they would all die before rescue would come, and the other survivors demanded that the thieves paid for their actions. I calmed them down and told them that it was my share of the water, and that they would all be alright.

"The other days were sluggish. I barely remembered them because I was so hungry and thirsty. But I remember counting the days... I was in the train, lying on my back with Igarashi in the train. I asked him if I could borrow his pen, and I used it to fill out organ donor-ship. I signed up all my organs, and Igarashi told me that the others were doing it too. The last thing I knew was Igarashi calling my name, and the ID card slipped out of my hand. Then there was a large flash of light... and then, what I would guess, is when I landed in Afterlife. I was supposed to have been thanked without knowing it." Otonashi turned and faced Kanade. "That's what was supposed to happen."

Hinata rubbed his eyes. "I couldn't stop crying..." he whined. "I only knew how I died, and that 'fly ball to second' event..."

"Senpai, don't cry," Yui said, "my eyes are dry enough as they were after listening to Otonashi! Don't make cry more...!"

"Sorry," Hinata said.

"I didn't know all of the details until now," Kanade answered.

"Wait," Hinata said, "shouldn't I have known why I went to Afterlife, because I'm alive right now? What did I regret?"

"Maybe it was because you never had any friends," Kanade said, cocking her head.

"Why you...!" Hinata lunged at Kanade, but she _delay_ed at the last second and sent Hinata crumpling to the floor. "Ow..."

"At least she didn't _hand sonic_ you," Otonashi said.

"It hurts..." Hinata said, gripping his head in the place where he had hit it.

Yui giggled. "At least you added to the sad atmosphere with your usual humorous personality."

"I was gonna put her in a swastika!"

"Can you swastika an angel?"

Hinata rose to his feet. He sighed. "So have you thought about Yuri? How we'll save her?"

Otonashi face-palmed. "You weren't paying any attention to what we said in the ball park?"

"That was the plan?" Hinata asked.

"It was. Now I would just suggest you just come back to Yui's house."

"I'll still try to come! I'll be on time!"

"I wouldn't bet on it..." Yui said, smiling. "But at least I would have company!"

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><p><strong>AN: I'm sad! No one reviewed for Chapter 9!<strong>

**I get it. I'm in a bit of a Writer's Block. I'm taking a very crappy detour. Read and Review, anyway...**

**-1caiser**


	12. Leader, We Shall Save You!

**To Live Life Fully  
><strong>

**Chapter 11: Leader, We Shall Save You!**

Disclaimer: _Angel Beats!_'s characters, setting, and plot do not belong to me. Even Mazui's subs, to which I have his subs extracted to form this FF.

* * *

><p>It was near 4:30 pm on Wednesday. Otonashi and Naoi were walking to the designated 8204 Aruita Complex Drive. Hinata had most likely already left, and Naoi was guiding them to Yuri's house. It was a large white house with shale roofing. Through the windows, Otonashi could see Yuri in the kitchen, preparing some kind of snack. "That's Yuri's house, alright," Naoi commented. "When do you think the robbers will be here?"<p>

"Maybe at the time we were supposed to stop at. Kanade should be here any moment too." They stopped at a tree and sat under the shade. "Did you bring a lockpick with you?"

Naoi pulled out a thin piece of metal with a curved tip. "It's helped with locked safes for keeping our clay," he said. "It's considered lucky, don't lose it."

Otonashi nodded as he accepted the pick and stowed it in his sleeve. "I don't lose things easy." He pulled the Walter 92 from his pocket, the same gun that the robber had "left" at his house. Six bullets were loaded in the magazine.

"Where'd you get that?" Naoi asked. "You didn't break into a gun store, did you?"

"Of course not," Otonashi said. "One of the robbers dropped it and forgot about it. So I have it."

Naoi chuckled. "To utilize a robber's weapon. Either it's a sin or it's a remade destiny for the gun." A car came to the curb of the park, and Kanade was standing behind it. Naoi waved Kanade to the tree. She came over, and sat next to Otonashi.

"I had a bit of homework to do," Kanade said. "There wasn't much, because I just had to finish a packet from yesterday."

"At least you weren't late," Naoi said. "Still, the idiot is going to be late... I just have that feeling."

Otonashi looked around. There was no sign of a black van anywhere. _Where are they?_ Otonashi thought. _It was around the sunset time that they would have came... but where are they now?_

"Is something wrong?" Kanade asked.

"Something is bothering me," Otonashi said. "But it's no big deal."

"Are you sure?" Naoi asked. He flipped out his phone. "It's 4:38 right now... the people should be here in about twenty minutes or something. It isn't the idiot that you're worried about, right?"

"You really hate Hinata, don't you..." Otonashi asked. "Why?"

"Well, it's just that we don't get along very much. And he's gonna be late to this operation. So I can guess that he's gonna be useless during this time... I can imagine him coming to... 'take the spoils' by coming to here after when we finish driving the robbers away."

Kanade yawned. "I feel tired... Is it okay if I take a nap right now?" She leaned up against Otonashi's shoulder and closed her eyes.

"How does she do that?" Naoi asked. "It takes me at least ten minutes to find sleep."

"That's what I thought when you threw us in the reflection room," Otonashi said. "She went directly to sleep."

"I put you and the SSS in the reflection room already."

"The _other_ reflection room. The one with a 'secure' safe door."

"Oh..." Naoi mused. "I remember now..." He pulled his school cap down below his eyes. "I may as well doze off too, then. Wake me when the operation is set to start, okay?" And Naoi sat there, breathing softly to himself.

Otonashi stroked Kanade's hair as he watched Yuri through her window. Her brother and sisters seemed so happy with her, like as if she was the anchor to their life. Otonashi could not help but smile at the sight through that window. _She's more than just our leader. She's the present guardian to her siblings' lives._

Just then, the sun was about to set. Otonashi nudged the two at his side; it had been a good fifteen minutes. A black van had just passed them and parked at Yuri's house. "Guys, they're here! We have to get ready!"

The two stirred before rubbing their eyes. When they saw the van, they got up. Kanade ran to the bushes and ducked down after peeking through the window. Naoi hid behind the van. After making sure the vehicle was empty, he went to the front porch, out of sight from the peep hole.

Otonashi could hear the screams of the children as the robbers covered their heads with cloth bags, along with Yuri's screams to accompany them. Then the robber with the Beretta turned to Yuri, and started to say something. Otonashi listened to the conversation through a window what was opened, somehow.

"Hey, you're the oldest, aren't you? Your parents must have told you where the money is, in case a robber happens to pass by, right?" His accomplice robber with a Walter 92 pointed his gun at her brother's covered head. "Now, why don't we play a game that we'll both enjoy? If you can bring us more than a hundred dollars' worth of stuff and or cold cash, we'll leave peacefully. But... if we have to wait more than ten minutes..."

He motioned his hand in a weird gesture, causing his buddy to shoot a bullet. It buried itself inside the wall, the barrel exploding in the child's ear, whom screamed and hugged one of his sisters, the faint sound of crying coming from inside. "Yuri, help me!" he screamed pitifully.

"Why you...!" Yuri started to say.

"...we'll kill one of these lovely children, one every ten minutes. And, if any of you speak during the game, we'll kill one of them too, with the ten minute timer restarted. And I say the game starts now." There was movement under the man's mask, to which Otonashi could imagine that he had smiled. Yuri scrambled upstairs to start her frantic search to save her siblings.

Otonashi made his move to the back door. He first checked the door to see if it was locked - which, of course, was. He took out Naoi's lockpick and stuck it into the keyhole. After wiggling it around in the insert, the lock responded with a click as he twisted the keyhole. Otonashi slowly opened the door, closed it behind him, then ducked behind a cabinet. There was a crash near him, and a splinter of the blue dragons vase slid to Otonashi. There was a small drop of blood on it. He prepared his Walter as he heard Yuri stand up and say, "Cruel... God, are you cruel..." Otonashi peeked from the cabinet to see the robber turned around. "...cruel to have me live this again..."

"What are you babbling about, girl?" the robber asked softly.

"Humans don't even have the patience to wait ten minutes... and you will never touch my brother and sisters!" A data stream came from the ground and formed itself into a small pendant. Yuri bent down to pick up a long shard, and threw it at the robber.

"Scum," the robber said as he dodged the shard and pointed his gun at Yuri. Kanade must have seen what was culminating, and burst through the window, armed with her _hand sonic_s on her forearms. She raised a _hand sonic_ just as the man shot the bullet, which ricocheted off the weapon and landed in the grandfather clock, casting a shower of glass among the children.

"You again?" the man asked.

"Kanade..." Yuri asked in disbelief, "Tenshi...?"

"Kill the hostages," the Beretta robber said. "Kill them all!"

The Walter robber hesitated, and Otonashi took that chance to fire, emptying the clip by missing two shots, scratching the man's pants with three, and effectively destroying the Walter with the last shot. The man dropped the gun as it shattered. "How shallow-minded," Kanade said as she swiped the Beretta out of the robber's hand.

The two men swung around as the front door opened with a dramatic _bang_. Naoi stepped in and raised his cap, revealing his reddened hypnosis eyes. "I... am your God," he proclaimed with a swoop of his hand. "You will now realize the greatness in the abilities of a battery, comparing it to your own worthlessness and despair. In addition, you hall report to the nearest police station and or police officer and confess your crimes." Otonashi could confess that the scene was comparable to Lelouch from the anime of _Code Geass_.

An eerie silence clung to the room as Naoi tossed two AA batteries at the robbers, one each. They stared at their respective batteries and warily picked it up. Then they spoke in unison, "...a battery. It's a battery. You... you put it in an electrical device..." They dropped the metal cylinders as they grasped their heads in awe. "...you put it in an electrical device and electricity flows through! The device will begin working! Incomprehensible! I can't believe that we utilize a wonderful invention like this!"

The Beretta robber turned to his partner. "We cannot live as free men while living under this object! We can only be crap compared to it, and that's saying nothing! We should just turn ourselves in, we cannot utilize such a wonderful contraption as this!"

"Then let's go! The nearest police station is on Kamikiri. What are we waiting for?" They ran out the front door, to which Naoi stepped aside to avoid being trampled.

When the men were out of sight, Naoi ran up Otonashi and clung to Otonashi's legs. "I was so afraid!" Naoi said. "I thought they were going to beat me up or something! And I tried to be so brave..."

"You did a great job," Otonashi said, patting Naoi on the head. "You prevented a blood bath, and that's saying something." Naoi stayed there, crying his eyes out.

"Yo," a voice called from the door. Otonashi saw Hinata standing there. "I saw two people run into a black van and drive off. What was that about?"

Naoi immediately jumped up and said in a demanding tone. "Where were you?"

"Hey, we won the game and had a party. So what, did I miss anything?"

"You missed everything," Kanade said as her hand sonics vanished and she removed the bag from Yuri's brother's head. The boy was still crying, to which Kanade hugged him and coaxed him that everything was okay. After about ten seconds, the boy had calmed down a bit and Kanade removed the two other bags.

"Yuri!" the three younger people cried, wailing for their eldest sister.

"Thank God you're okay..." Yuri said. She looked up at Kanade. "And thank you... Kanade." Kanade smiled as she looked up at Otonashi. Yuri looked at the orange-haired boy and smiled. "Otonashi. Naoi."

"What about me?" Hinata asked, almost bewildered.

"You did not participate in the operation, idiot," Naoi said smugly. He turned to everyone else and said, "Wait... weren't we the last graduating class of Afterlife Academy?" Then he turned to Yuri. "And it _is_ the obligation of the underlings to protect the leader in their time of dire need, isn't it?"

"The way you put it makes it sound evil," Hinata commented.

"I'll make you experience the greatness in toilet paper," Naoi said. "I am your God."

"You're still on about that... even coming back didn't make you realize you're a normal human being? Besides, all I saw was that you were clinging to Otonashi's legs and crying like a baby."

Naoi's eyes flashed red as he started to command, but Otonashi clapped his hands in front of Naoi's face. "Okay, break it up. Naoi, there's no need to use your hypnosis as weaponry. Hinata, stop flaming your God. The next thing I'll see is that you pick up the robber's guns and are pointing it at each other." There were two clicks when Otonashi finished. "Kanade, please disarm them."

"Yuri, you're bleeding!" one of her sisters cried out. "I'll get a band-aid for you!" She left for the kitchen just as Kanade swiped the guns from Hinata's and Naoi's hands and placed them into Otonashi's.

"Thank you," he said.

Yuri applied the band-aid to her finger and smiled. "Otonashi..." she said. "You led them, didn't you?"

"Uhh... well... sort of..."

"Anyway, that was one of the SSS's most successful operations to date. And I'm surprised you have any leadership skills." She smiled. "I knew it was a good thing to do to recruit you."

"Yuri, what are you talking about?" one of her sisters asked.

"Oh! Right, these four are my friends." She gestured at each of them while saying their names: "Otonashi, Kanade, Naoi, and Hinata. They're also the people that happened to save our lives."

"But we couldn't save the house," Kanade commented. "Shattered windows, broken furniture... not to mention a broken vase."

"I'll just leave a note and my phone number," Otonashi replied, "then I'll come help clean up the glass and all, is that okay?"

"Let's go!"

"In Operation High Tension Syndrome, we would only use dust cloths..." Hinata said resignedly.

"And you almost killed me, scum," Naoi recalled. "You and the halberd guy."

"Don't make me call it Operation High Tension Syndrome," Yuri said. "Hurry up and clean!"

Hinata sighed as we went to where the closet was and fished out a broom and a dustpan, tending to the place with the broken vase. Kanade went to the destroyed grandfather clock to pick up the glass shards. Naoi retrieved the guns and handed them to Yuri. "Are you sure it's a good idea for your parents to know you have guns in your possession?"

"They'll never notice!" Yuri said, beaming a smile. "Right?"

"Right!" cried the three children. "Do you know how to shoot a gun, Yuri?"

"I know, but I don't want to," Yuri said.

"Anyway... how are gonna replace the windows?" Kanade asked from her end of the room. "A robber could just as easily hop through the window and take something."

Otonashi sighed. "I'll call the window department... but your parents will definitely say something about the grandfather clock and the vase you tried to bring down the stairs.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the late update. Start of Summer Break leads to School Finals, to which caused me to forget to update.**

**Read and Review!**

**-1caiser  
><strong>


	13. Personal Affair

**To Live Life Fully  
><strong>

**Chapter 12: Personal Affair**

Disclaimer: _Angel Beats!_'s characters, setting, and plot do not belong to me. Even Mazui's subs, to which I have his subs extracted to form this FF.

* * *

><p>That night, Kanade spent the night at Otonashi's house again. Otonashi was beginning to enjoy the company he was getting, including the periodic visits to Yui, and some of the visits he was getting from Naoi. For a time, Otonashi began to think it was becoming more like Afterlife again.<p>

It was about 6:49 when they arrived home. Kanade ordered_ Mapo Tofu_ delivery for dinner, with some of Otonashi's ramen. The supply was beginning to become low, and Otonashi decided to head out to the supermarket the next day. He brought a letter that was stowed inside the mailbox. The seal of Kataro Medical College was pasted on the envelope flap. Otonashi opened the letter, revealing a drop-down letter.

"The Medical College of Kataro is calling me?" Otonashi asked. "I missed their entrance exam though." He started reading:

_Dear Mr. Otonashi Yuzuru,_

_We have received news of your triumphant attempt to save many survivors during the Daiichi Tunnel Collapse. We know you were upon that train as medical officials, some of which have participated in the rescue operations, and are glad your health has returned to normal. We are happy to accept you into our academy. The entrance test will be at the same location and the same time on April twenty-fifth. We look forward to your enrollment._

_Thank you for your time,  
>Hanamoi Karamachi,<br>Head Chancellor of Kataro Medical College_

"I should go," Otonashi said. "They're giving me another chance to enroll in."

"You have a future planned out," Kanade said. "You have a role that has been set for you. You should go."

"That's what I said," Otonashi said. He then went to prepare the ramen.

After the ramen was prepared, and they were waiting for the _Mapo Tofu_ to arrive, Otonashi fetched the _Angel Player_ laptop from his room. There were multiple tabs at the top of the screen, which one of them read in kanji: _Statistics_. Otonashi clicked the tab, which immediately brought up a list of names, secondary tabs labeled All, NPCs, and Graduate. It was set to default on All. He scrolled to the date of January 2, 2011, which was the time of his sister's, Hatsune's, death. Her name wasn't found.

Otonashi sighed. "Hatsune didn't make it," he said resignedly.

Kanade looked over to the screen. "How'd you filter the names...? Oh. I'm blind..."

"No," Otonashi comforted, patting her shoulder, "I'm thinking that it was just too small to see or something. Maybe because it's in a too obvious location?"

Kanade looked up. "I suppose..." She pointed at the Graduates tab. "I wonder if there were any more Graduates before us and Iwasawa?"

Otonashi shrugged as clicked the tab. There was a tertiary tab, labeled All, Full-Graduate, and Reliving Graduate. Otonashi scrolled to the top, to which the first person to graduate was...

Kai, with an exclamation mark. The caption read, Full name is undetermined. In the status area, it had read "reset". Otonashi didn't understand what that meant. All he knew was that he was listed as a "reset" and a Full-Graduate. _Wait... Takamatsu is a "reset"... is that what "reset" means? That he was obliterated by the Shadows?_ Otonashi then remembered the parallel between him and the Programmer. The Programmer, heartbroken by the disappearance of a loved one, created the _reset_ program to create the Shadows.

"Kai...?" Otonashi asked.

"Sounds like an alias or something," Kanade said, "or something random, posted by the Programmer."

"I never knew such a name would have existed."

The doorbell rang. Otonashi rose from the seat -checking the clock: 7:12 pm - and fished out his wallet from his pocket. He opened the door, where a delivery person stood with a plastic bag. The person was somewhat short, probably the minimum height to drive a vehicle, had mushroom-style, orange hair. His eyes beamed a bright brown. He looked at the receipt and said, "...Tachibana... Kanade?"

"I'll pay for it," Otonashi said. Kanade looked at them from the seat.

"Six-hundred yen," he said, handing the bag to Otonashi. "It occurs to me that that name is familiar, or is it my imagination?"

"I... don't recall," Otonashi said, "but it does feel that way for some reason... you come into my mind that you stood up in a classroom and shouted something, but I can't be sure."

The boy laughed. "I kinda dreamed that a few nights ago! Then some guy in a desk... somehow flew into the ceiling!"

Kanade walked into the open with the laptop in her hand. "Your name... Oyama Takemashi?"

"Waah! She knows my name?"

"Huh?" Otonashi asked, "Oyama?"

He became surprised, and blinked several times. "Otonashi? And Tenshi - uhh, Tachibana?"

Kanade nodded. "I found your name." She rotated the computer and her arm, showing Oyama the screen. "You're listed under Reliving Graduates..."

"I had always thought that Afterlife was just a dream!" Oyama said, putting a hand to the back of his head. "Besides, where's everyone else? Aren't there other people who revived or something?"

"We found Yuri and helped her get over her past," Otonashi said. "But wait, if you're here, then shouldn't the other SSS members be here too?"

"I'm guessing it depends on the person," Kanade said. "The ones here still have something to do, just like one wanted to achieve something and ended up in Afterlife. It's supposed to work both ways, isn't it?"

"Well, I did want to become better at some things..." Oyama admitted. "That's why I happened to come back?"

"That could be part of the reason. Hey, you don't have any other deliveries, don't you?"

Oyama looked up then exclaimed, "Waah! I do, I'm late! I'll talk to you later." And with that, Oyama ran into his car and sped off.

Otonashi sighed as he and Kanade went back into the house. Kanade sat down as Otonashi prepared the ramen and the _Mapo Tofu_, distributing the food between Kanade and himself. "So Oyama came back too?"

"It seems so," Kanade said, mixing the ramen and the _Mapo Tofu_ together, then sticking it into her mouth. "Well... the ones whom still had something to do must have come to Reality, just like events in Afterlife."

"If we came here to do something," Otonashi said, "then what did we come here to do?"

Kanade shrugged. "Maybe God exists and wanted to let us live the rest of our lives or something. Who knows? It's as the Christians say,_ the God of Beginnings and Ends controls all_. I don't understand why He would kill off people... maybe that's why I don't go to church."

"Yuri and the SSS rebelled against God. It's no wonder we would ignore his existence... if He does." Otonashi finished his bowl of _Mapo Tofu_ ramen and laid it in the sink, then placed it in the dishwasher. "Perhaps we shouldn't become to religious."

"It was a Sunday that we met each other again," Kanade said. "And Christians consider Sundays the Holy Day or something. I used to go to church when I was younger... but never went since my parents died... and Yuri's story - God tore everything away from her in thirty minutes. You have the regret of not being able to save anyone, even with near-perfect medical skills. Hinata got ran over by a truck, Yui was paralyzed from neck-down, and..." Kanade looked up as she was lost in thought. "...why did she come to Afterlife?"

"She suffered from cerebral contusion, paralyzing her to only be able to blink. But it appears she's able to at least move her mouth to try and make a smile. I think her brain's waking up."

"Will she continue to compose music?" Kanade brought her bowl to the sink and ran water in it.

"It's a possibility. Maybe the doctors will perform surgery on her or maybe try to jump-start her brain or something like that, just to speed up the process. But, then again, it's better for the bruise to heal on its own."

Kanade said nothing at the statement. Instead, she headed up the stairs. In almost no time at all, Otonashi could hear the shower turn on. _And she's gonna be in there for, at the least, ten minutes..._ The door closed a second later.

Otonashi retrieved the laptop, walked up the stairs, and into his room. He looked over _Angel Player_, feeling as if he was missing something. No new changes were made over the course of the last three days.

Otonashi put the laptop back onto his desk. As he set it down, Kanade's phone flickered and showed the caller ID Uncle. The background music of _My Song_'s melody started to play. _Her uncle..._ Otonashi thought. _Doesn't he only call on those urgent or special occasions?_ Otonashi pondered whether he should answer it or leave it be.

The tune stopped playing.

_I'll just tell Kanade her uncle called then..._ Otonashi sat in the swivel chair and laid back again. Kanade's phone rang again, and Otonashi merely pressed its designated silent button. Then turning to the laptop, he minimized _Angel Player_ and opened up the internet browser. The homepage, Bigglobe, showed the most recent news, which included the train in the tunnel accident. There were two photos: one of him on stretcher, and another of the survivors getting up to become rescued.

_The story made it,_ Otonashi thought. _Still a week old, and it's still a top news. _Otonashi scrolled down to see a new addition, which the heading said _Two Robbers Admit Crimes and Arrest Selves_. The add date was today, at a few hours ago. Otonashi cracked a smile as he read the story:

_On Wednesday, April sixth, at around 5:08, two men wearing ski masks and dark clothing entered the Kamakiri Police Station, confessing a crime of holding three children as hostage while having the eldest look for valuables, also claiming the "greatness in batteries" while commenting their lowliness toward the invention. The scene was said to have been committed on 8204 Aruita Complex Drive. The robbers had discussed their plan in no time flat:_

_"Well, we held the three youngest kids as hostage while the oldest one looked for things that was worth more than at least a hundred bucks," says Dirk Daikochi, one of the robbers. "If the money wasn't brought in time, we would kill one of the hostages every ten minutes. Then after the hostages are gone, we would leave..."_

_It is still unknown why the men decided to abandon their operations, but they reported of a few high school seniors sitting in the shade of a tree in the cul-de-sac near the place of the event._

_"I remember seeing two of them from somewhere," says Goruai Hakusa, the second of the robbers, "and the girl had these weird sword thingies popping out of her sleeves!"_

_There is not enough information regarding their unexpected emotional trauma or about the girl with the strange swords. Officials claim that there wasn't enough evidence to support that there was an actual crime scene, other than a few rounds shot and a broken window. Police are still trying to assess the crime scene to understand the events that have occurred there._

Otonashi burst out laughing. Kanade poked her head in and asked, "What's so funny?" She was wearing night clothes, as if she were getting ready for bed.

Otonashi caught his breath. "We made the Bigglobe news today! It's almost unbelievable, that the robbers actually confessed about the battery business... Naoi actually got to their heads. Oh, and while you were in the shower, you got a phone call from _Uncle_." Kanade winced as she took her phone from the desk. She flipped open her phone and pressed a few buttons and put the phone to her ear.

"Hi, Uncle," Kanade said. "I was in the shower when you called. What's going on in China?" ... "Oh, that's good." ... "You're coming back soon?" ... "You what? Without asking me? I'm still in high school, not to mention I'm going into college!" Otonashi almost became scared at her outburst of emotion. "Why? I can't be... look, I can't take this. There's someone right next to me, and he's looking at me weirdly." ... "Yes, it's your fault. You approved it without asking me. I'm going. And since you approved it, I have a feeling I'm going to hate my life." ... "No, I'm not going as far as to kill myself! I'm not going to believe it, 'cause I'm hanging up. I hope you get mugged." Kanade flipped the phone shut and stowed it in her pocket. She breathed calmly once, then studied Otonashi's disturbed expression. "Is everything okay?"

"Y-yeah..." Otonashi stammered, "E-everything's okay..."

"Did I scare you? Judging by your expression and that stammering, I think I did. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. What did your uncle do that made you so angry? I never saw you in an outburst like that ever since I met you."

"It's not serious. Just some family matters. He's in China and... something private. It's nothing to discuss."

Otonashi sighed. _She undergoes an emotional disruption and returns to normal after a breath. I just wonder how she can show as much emotion as a rock for most of her life..._ "Are you sure you don't wanna talk about it?" he asked.

"Perfectly fine with it." Kanade sighed as she plopped onto the bed. "It isn't important. Nothing you need to be bothered with. It's just another thing for you to worry about. You already have an entrance test into your college on our last day of school; you don't need anything on your mind other than that."

_She sounds so serious about it..._ Otonashi thought.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: First week of Summer Break = SO BORING...**

**Writer's Block is starting to fade at least. I have a vague path of knowing how to end. Until then...**

**-1caiser**


	14. Disruption at School

****To Live Life Fully****

**Chapter 13: Disruption at School**

Disclaimer: _Angel Beats!_'s characters, setting, and plot do not belong to me. Even Mazui's subs, to which I have his subs extracted to form this FF.

* * *

><p>For the third time since leaving Afterlife, Otonashi couldn't sleep. He lay on the spare mattress in his room, covered by blankets, his head rested on the pillow, with his hands under it. He stared up into the ceiling, pondering two things: medical college and Kanade.<p>

He put aside the medical college dilemma and thought of what he had experienced with Kanade. _It has to be something very private for Kanade to speak out of her character,_ Otonashi thought, _but I already know that. Ever since things happened, people haven't been acting the way they were in Afterlife... or very vaguely from it._ He chuckled. "Same goes for me..." he said to himself.

Unable to find sleep, Otonashi walked out of the room. Moonlight streamed through the windows facing east. Downstairs, Otonashi poured a cup of water for himself and sat on the couch. To his side, the moon shined brightly, just like the moon he saw on his first day in Afterlife. He sighed at the sight. Still, in the midst of their out-of-character-ness, there was still peace. Otonashi smiled.

"Can't sleep?" Otonashi whirled around, finding Kanade on the stairs in her pink and purple pajamas. "It seems that I can't either..."

"But there's school tomorrow, isn't there?" Otonashi asked. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

Kanade walked to the couch and sat next to Otonashi. "There are no council meetings or any major lectures. Just a period-long test - I can sleep then."

"Isn't it going to be strange for the Student Council President to be sleeping in class?"

"Everyone does it. It's as long as the teacher doesn't see me. I'll tell Yuri to wake me up before the passing break ends. It's alright." Kanade looked up. "Have you been thinking?"

"College. Whether I'll be able to make a difference in my life, I am able to start over and start over my meaningless past. I told you about it - I made enough money to live off of and buy _manga_ for my little sister." Otonashi looked at his hand and clenched it into a fist. "I could finally save someone, to have the power to keep what I want. That was part of the dream of being thanked for something."

Kanade sighed softly. "I was thinking of my uncle."

"You said you wanted him to be assassinated?"

Kanade tried to stifle a laugh. "We play around like that, using threats. I can't repay him taking me in, or I would end up in a foster home. But... this time, it's something he can't take back..."

"Please tell me about it," Otonashi said, looking up at her.

"I can't... you'd just be distracted-"

"It distracts me more if it is never revealed," Otonashi reasoned. "It won't do harm to just tell me."

Kanade closed her eyes. "I can't. I can't bring myself to say it..." Through the moonlight, Otonashi saw a tear fall down her face. It fell off her chin and hit the couch with a soft _plip_. He leaned against Kanade and brought his arms around her.

"Then I'll wait," Otonashi said.

Kanade smiled. "Thank you." She rested her head on Otonashi's shoulder and closed her eyes. In seconds, she was steadily breathing; asleep.

_To get something off your chest requires someone to talk to... _Otonashi looked at the full moon once more before his vision gave away, and he went limp as his brain drifted to sleep._ And someone to accept it..._

LINE

When Otonashi woke up, he was lying on the couch with a blanket draped on his body. He rubbed his eyes. He got up and looked around, Kanade was nowhere in his sight. Probably went to school... he concluded. In the pantry, he found an opened box of cereal, which told him that Kanade had helped herself with her own breakfast. Otonashi took the same box out, along with the opened jug of milk, and brought a rinsed bowl and spoon from the dishwasher. He poured out the cereal into the bowl, filled it with milk, then swirled the cereal around once before taking a mouthful. He checked the time: 9:49 am.

_Kanade left two hours ago..._ Otonashi sighed as he took in another spoonful of cereal. He sat there in solitude of his own world. When he was finished, he once again rinsed his bowl in the sink and stowed it in the dishwasher to dry.

Otonashi fetched the _Windings_ laptop. He wondered of who the Programmer was, what had caused him to become an NPC by his own program. Surely it wasn't just being left alone in the Afterlife School Campus. Otonashi switched to the Graduate Attendees tab, to which five new names were added on that day. Somewhere, across the entire world, five people who still had something to achieve had died and accepted their death. Otonashi could only wonder if Igarashi had survived his surgery and re-nutrition. _Anyway, there's a chance he'll be okay._ Other than that, it seemed that _Angel Player _had not been found in Afterlife. There were no new changes since he had left that school campus. Other dilemmas were named.

Another name popped up onto the screen, but Otonashi didn't pay much attention when he found the name didn't belong to someone he knew or would have known. Otonashi left the computer on the desk as he sat at the couch area. He stared at Hatsune's piano.

_I wonder how Hatsune is doing..._ he thought. _Did she graduate Afterlife by school work or by fulfilling her dream? I don't remember seeing a piano there anywhere anyway... so did she wait for someone in Afterlife to meet in the real world, or did she live her life the way she wished? So many possible outcomes..._

Otonashi got up and set the _Windings_ computer on sleep. He retrieved a bag and put the laptop inside it, and placed his charged phone in his pocket. _A bit of medical study will help my mind..._ He headed out the door and locked it behind him. He checked the time via his phone. 10:04 am. More than three hours of study. _Then I'll maybe go window shopping or something._

Otonashi walked to the bus stop and waited there. He took the bus to the Shibuya area, as it was the center of the shopping hub. He casually looked through several store windows, stopping at a few that had vaguely managed to grab his attention.

Otonashi had still decided to get nothing when his phone rang. The caller ID stated the person as Hinata. Otonashi looked at the time: 12:23 pm. He flipped the phone open and put it to his ear. "Hinata? What's up?"

"Well, it's lunchtime... and something just happened to come up..."

"What happened?"

"How do I put this... uhh, imagine Kanade standing in front of a half-arc group of men. The men have murderous gazes on their face at the moment, along that the fact that their fists are clenched. Do you have a good picture?"

Otonashi's eyes widened. He dropped his phone on the ground as he raced out the door, not stopping any second.

"They're going in!" Hinata cried. "Otonashi! Where are you?"

LINE

There was a half-minute wait for the Route 471 taxi to arrive, which was fast for Otonashi's standards. He understood Kanade's intentions; only fight when no other solution is left. It was a three minute drive to the high school with all green lights and no intense traffic, which was also very fortunate. Otonashi burst out of the taxi, leaving his fee of seven-hundred yen, and in through a side gate of the school. Not far in front of him, Kanade had dodged three hits, all from different angles. One of them grabbed her from behind, lifting her into the air.

"Student Council President...?" one of the students sneered, "so much for that title... having an underling try and protect you?" Otonashi saw Hinata's near-broken form lying on a lunch table. A ring of students had already gathered, to which school officials weren't able to get through. "How will you fight back?"

Otonashi lost his will to control himself. He dashed at the student holding her, and said, "LET GO OF HER!" He raised a fist and pummeled the student in the lower jaw, probably dislocating it. The student, who was not close to being prepared for it, dropped Kanade and was sent flying, crashing into a soda machine.

"Whoa!" cried a student. "Shibato is over a hundred-fifty, and that new guy just sent him flying!"

"You're not hurt, are you?" Otonashi asked Kanade, stooping down to help her up. She nodded her head.

"What's this?" another student, supposedly the leader, said. "Is this another boyfriend of yours? Have to call on them to protect you?"

"Go," Otonashi told Kanade, who ran to Hinata. Otonashi then faced the leader and said, "What caused you to act? What caused you to disrupt a near-perfect day into oblivion?"

The leader's face twitched. "Tachibana Kanade is a compromise!" he declared, spitting at the ground in front of Otonashi. "What she says is law in this school, and we are doing something about it. We're-"

"Overthrowing her?" Otonashi interrupted. "Forcing her to step down? Making her abdicate? What good would that do?" Otonashi took a step forward, oblivious to the fact he stepped on the spit puddle. "You yourself wouldn't make half as good a Student Council President Kanade would make. You would just be a wall, ever persistent into creating a school that suited _your_ needs. Are your motives the same as that of Kanade's?" The leader glowered at Otonashi, a rumbling fist threatening to punch him. "So what will you do? Will you stay your hand, or will you punch? I already know your friends' fates; suspension, a week at most. But you've only told them to act, so you still have a chance to stay on this campus. And given that I don't attend this school, the only thing that will happen to me is a broken bone at most." Otonashi looked up at the student. "So what's it gonna be?"

The student growled as he threw his punch. To his surprise, Otonashi had caught the fist and was pushing back with barely any strain. Otonashi lunged forward and staved the student in the stomach, the force of the blow sending him staggering backwards, holding his abdomen. "Get him!" the student told his lackeys. The other jumped at Otonashi, who stepped back and kicked one in the face, punching two others, but received a blow to the side. His rhythm messed up, the other students started to beat Otonashi up, and the student leader himself started to bash on Otonashi's face.

"That's... who... you... are...!" the student said, hitting his face with each word. Kanade called out Otonashi's name, but Otonashi could only register the student's words. "Nothing... but... a... worm...! And..." His fist became caught. Otonashi stared at him through his bruised face.

"If you have a point to make, then do it. Stop preaching and finish what you want to finish. This is your life?" Otonashi pushed the student off his chest and stood up and wiped off the stream of blood under his nose. "To call others worthless, when you call upon your _friends_ to act. What about if you weren't actually as tough as you claim? Would they still walk by you? Would they still hang out with you? Let me tell you the truth.

"You are weak."

The atmosphere became cold with tension as the words were spoken. The teachers stopped scrambling to get through the crowd. The student's face twitched with boiling rage as he threw another punch. Otonashi dodged the blow, countered with an elbow hit to the stomach, got down and tripped the student; whom now screamed in pain. His friends just stared at him writhing on the ground. The bell rung, but no one paid any attention to it.

Rumbling came from above as rain started to fall. "What will you accomplish by removing me?" Otonashi asked. "What will you do?" The student stopped squirming and stopped at knelt knees.

"Why..." he said. A puddle of water started forming in his shadow, not caused by the rain. "Why are you telling me this...?"

The rain started to pour harder, but everyone; even the faculty; neglected it. Otonashi sighed. "You still don't realize... from strength comes weakness, and from realization, change. Same thing works backwards, if you think about it. There is still time to change."

The student put his hands on the ground, and started to tremble. Water fell from his face, with only two of his accomplices to comfort him.

_"School shall be let out early today,"_ a voice said on the loudspeakers. _"If you are a bus rider or a walker, stay in the gymnasium after school. All others, contact your parents about this message. Thank you."_ The loudspeaker clicked as it was shut off. Otonashi looked up into the sky, the rain falling onto his bruised face. "No one ever releases school because of this..." a student said. Otonashi's vision became fuzzy and he felt as if he was falling. He heard his name being called, and small arms caught him. Then a wave of black overwhelmed his vision.

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><p><strong>AN: Excuse the filler chapter, but I felt really bad for going hiatus without a goodbye chapter. I'll get the other chapters up ASAP... power-writing is what I would call it. Same thing with power-reviewing...**

**Read and Review!**

**-1caiser**


	15. To the End of the School Year

****To Live Life Fully****

**Chapter 14: To the End of the School Year**

Disclaimer: _Angel Beats!_'s characters, setting, and plot do not belong to me. Even Mazui's subs, to which I have his subs extracted to form this FF.

**This is your REAL Chapter "15", literally 14. Enjoy.**

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><p><em>A school campus. A moon was brightly shining in the sky, partially blocked by clouds. Otonashi was lying on the concrete ground, staring into the sky. His body ached a bit. He looked around, and he saw a figure, somewhat short girl with long silver hair, crouching right next to him.<em>

_"Shall I take you?" she asked softly._

_"Take me where...?" Otonashi replied._

_The girl smiled. "To the place where your dreams shall come true..." She outstretched one of her hands, to which Otonashi grasped and pulled himself up. Just as he did, a bright light enveloped the two of them._

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><p>"Yuzuru! Are you still with us?"<p>

_A voice... calling out to me...?_

"Yuzuru!"

_I feel... a person's hand... but I see... no one there..._

"Wake up... Yuzuru!"

_What is the meaning of this...?_

"Yuzuru, wake up! Don't give in... please!"

Otonashi's eyes slowly opened, squinting as they adjusted to the light. "Why is it so noisy when I try to sleep...?" Otonashi asked. Kanade was sitting a couple feet away from him, her hand wrapping his. Hinata was leaned against the wall, Naoi was sitting in a different chair, and Yuri was sat backwards in the swivel chair. "What happened?"

"Oh," Hinata said, "you just passed out. Naoi called his guardian, dad, mom, or something like that, and he brought you here. Then Naoi said he was gonna be here for a while." He looked at Kanade. "Say, why do you call him 'Yuzuru' like that's his first name or something?"

"Is something wrong with it?" Kanade asked, looking up at Hinata.

"I was going to ask the same thing," Naoi commented. "What is wrong with the Student Council President calling Otonashi by his first name?" Hinata scowled at the hate being directed at him.

"Does it even matter how someone calls a different person?" Yuri asked in a bored tone. "As long as there is a name to gather one's attention, right?" Kanade nodded, to which Hinata face-palmed. Yuri looked at Otonashi. "Right now, the only thing I don't get is how you manage to survive a couple blows to the face."

Otonashi put a hand to his cheek to feel gauze taped to it. "How long have I been out?"

"A few hours at most," Naoi said, flipping open his phone. "From about 12:15 to some 3:15, which was a few minutes ago." Otonashi looked at his alarm clock, 3:17 pm.

"You're with us right?" Hinata asked, "you were pretty bashed up there."

"Of course Otonashi is okay!" Naoi thundered. "Some friend you are, for having barely any faith."

"Naoi, calm down..." Otonashi said. "Look, I'm fine. Just bruised up and all, but I'm okay."

Yuri smiled. "Then I guess we can all go out somewhere!"

"You're still here?" Otonashi cried out. "What about your brother and sisters? Aren't they supposed to be picked up from school?"

"Well, they do have an after-school club today, and they can take the taxi home... but they don't have a home key... that is a problem..."

"And have you paid for a new window yet?"

"Yeah. Put it on my father's paycheck. But how am I supposed to explain the grandfather clock and the dragon vase?" Otonashi face-palmed.

"Tell them that robbers came over and tried to ransack the house," Hinata said. "Then say..."

"Give them the newspaper," Naoi interrupted.

Yuri looked between the two. "I'll just give them the newspaper..."

"I doubt there should be any problem to explain anything," Kanade reasoned. "If you just give them the truth, you won't have any problem with finals."

"Finals?" Hinata cried out, then fell to the floor. "Why... and it's only in three weeks...!"

"What's wrong?"

"I didn't study! And I have baseball!"

"Your end-of-the-season game was just last week."

Naoi scoffed. "Scum... are you trying to bring back that Operation: _High Tension Syndrome_?" He got up from the chair and left the room. "I'm going. See you all later."

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><p>It was like this for a week: Kanade, Hinata, Yuri, and Naoi would come over after lunch or after school, Yuri usually accompanied by her younger siblings; whom usually went to trample the piano's keys. Bad music would continue for the day until Yuri left; thus making her have to speak briefly before having to depart. The next day, there was one occasion that a neighbor complained about the noise and threatened to call the police. Yuri told her siblings to apologize, resulting in a departure.<p>

It was on the fourth day that Otonashi decided his migraine had subsided enough so he could walk around. To everyone's surprise, everyone was astonished at how well he could cook; along with the taste. After that meal was over, everyone headed over to visit Yui.

"Otonashi!" Yui's mother cried when she opened the door. "What happened to your face?"

"Something very bad, as you can tell," Otonashi replied.

"How did it happen?"

"Oh, I got involved in a school fight, then fainted afterward. I'm fine now. Is Yui awake?"

Yui's mother ushered them inside, allowing them upstairs. The five hustled up to Yui's room, with Naoi being the last to enter. "It's a stranger!" Yui cried, looking at Naoi. "Get him away from me!" Otonashi hung his head, shaking it at the misunderstanding. If Yui had control over her arms, she may have either thrown her pillow at Naoi or hid under the covers. That statement caused everyone to explain that it was the only guy to get stabbed by a rogue harmonics clone and not have his name be miserably cried out. Naoi scoffed at his identity be introduced in such a mundane way.

With Naoi's identity settled, Hinata started to become tearful. "Senpai, why are you crying?" Yui asked Hinata. "And you're shaking too, are you cold?"

Otonashi told everyone else to leave the room for a while, to which no one tried to oppose the request. They waited with the door closed. "Why?" Yuri asked when the door closed.

"Something private," Otonashi replied. "It will be revealed soon."

It was a few minutes later when Hinata opened the door, his eyes wet with tears. As Otonashi passed him, he heard Hinata whisper a "thank you". Otonashi responded with a pat on the shoulder and the whisper, "Congratulations." Fortunately, no one else heard the exchange of words.

They talked a while, talking about how they were able to come together and be friends in Afterlife, which resulted in sharing of their life stories; starting with Yui, then Hinata, then Naoi; ending with the fact that his father is well enough to teach him how to work clay again, and finally with Yuri. They appreciated having a second chance to live, then return. It all ended with Yui asking, "But was Afterlife just a dream?"

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><p>The weeks of finals were the loneliest for Otonashi, since Kanade, Naoi, Hinata, and Yuri stayed home to study for their finals. He usually met over with Yui, then just enjoying a few hours accompanying her watching<em> Clannad<em> and other random channels. Right now, it was the ending scene of Episode Twenty-one in the After Story,_ Clannad_ Season Two.

"_I hate this city," _the main character, Okazaki Tomoya, said, restarting his soliloquy from Episode One of the first season. _"It's full of memories I want to forget. Go to school, chat with friends, then go back to the house I didn't want to go back to. Will things eventually change? Will that day ever come?_

The TV scene showed a student with blue hair swept to one side while the other side had lowered spikes. He was wearing a tan school uniform that wasn't tucked in, and he held a schoolbag under his right arm. He approached a brick path full of _sakura_ trees, their small pink petals swirling in the wind. An auburn haired girl stood to the side of the path. As the main character neared her, he stopped and eyed her.

"_Anpan_!" she said suddenly. Okazaki Tomoya became slightly astonished. "Do you like this school?" she asked. "I really, really love it. But nothing can stay unchanged.

"_If I respond, we'll start hanging out and talking to each other, then start dating, and we'll get married... but maybe it's better if that didn't happen..."_

_To Be Continued..._

"Otonashi!" called Yui's mother. "Can you bring Yui down? It's almost time."

Otonashi looked at Yui and checked the time; it was nearing 5:00, so Otonashi went to Yui. "Time to go," he told her as he moved the covers aside. "You nervous?" He stooped down to pick up a drawstring backpack.

"Kind of," Yui said. "But it's nice to know that Mom doesn't need to worry about me anymore." She looked down at her hands.

"Well," Otonashi said, lifting Yui by her legs while supporting her back, "we all know Hinata will take care of you as much as he can. Besides, we know how Hinata is: when he's serious, he'll do anything that could help, otherwise, he's in his own funny attitude. I know he will take care of you." They passed Yui's mom, whom was wearing a formal black and white dress.

"That helps a lot," Yui said. Otonashi started down the stairs, then put Yui in the wheelchair. He pushed her outside, then lifted her into the car, and into a seat restraint for paralyzed people, and secured the five-way seat belt.

"You comfortable?" Otonashi asked. Yui nodded her head. Otonashi closed the car door, then went to the other side of the car and strapped himself in the seat behind the driver's seat. Yui's mom entered the driver's seat, started the car, and they drove off.

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><p><strong>AN: I am sorry for my EpicFail... I hope this mishap doesn't bother any of my readers. This teaches me that I needn't rush _anything_, from writing to even updating. Again, apologies sent out. Thank you.**

**Review this Chapter as "Chapter 16", using the next Chapter's review button, since doesn't allow multiple reviews on the same Chapter. Thank you.**

**-1caiser  
><strong>


	16. Vows

****To Live Life Fully****

**Chapter 15: Vows**

Disclaimer: _Angel Beats!_'s characters, setting, and plot do not belong to me. Even Mazui's subs, to which I have his subs extracted to form this FF.

**NOTICE: I HAVE FAILED! WRONG CHAPTER UPDATE!**

**The REAL Chapter 15 was Chapter _14_: the previous Chapter... my EpicFailure for this story.**

***Face-palm***

**Special thanks to [ J. W. Yin (without spaces... thinks this is a URL...] for the review regarding this Fail.  
><strong>

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><p>There only were a few cars parked in the First Church of Shibuya that Sunday. Yui's mom drove into the complex, parking in a spot close to the church doors. Naoi and Yuri stood here, wearing a tuxedo and a dress, respectively. They waved at Otonashi as he exited. "Over here!" Yuri cried. Otonashi waved them off as he prepared Yui's wheelchair and set Yui into it and then pushed her to the entrance.<p>

"That looks good on you," Otonashi told Naoi, nodding at the suit.

Naoi looked away. "Hinata's inside," he responded. "Let's go in."

The three went in, where an adult, someone Otonashi had never met before, stood. "Yui," she said, "come, let's get you prepared. Hinata's waiting." She took over Otonashi's role of pushing Yui, and rolled her into a side corridor. "You three go into the sanctuary, help prepare anything that needs to be prepared." And the woman disappeared into another room, the door closing behind her.

Otonashi waved them in again. "Well, the final preparations are under way. C'mon, let's go in." The three entered the sanctuary, looking at all the decorations. A pair of pillars with ribbons swirling down their trunks stood in front of the stage on either side, flanking a wide ramp that led up onto the stage. Even a banner that wrote out _Hinata X Yui_ was set above the stage. A few lines of chairs dominated the middle, in which sets of tables were placed near the edges of the sanctuary, where lines of food were rowed out.

"Hey!" Naoi said more enthusiastically than usual. He was pointing at a figure on a wedding cake, where a figurine of a blue-haired man was standing next to a pink-haired girl in a wheelchair. "Who's this guy? He looks so cute, yet so professional!" He poked the figurine.

"Uhh, that's Hinata," Yuri said.

Naoi absorbed the words, then frowned. "Actually, what I meant to say was... this figurine looks so ugly... and sloppy."

Otonashi sighed as he slapped the back of Naoi's head. "Don't be so fickle," he chided. "Someday, your plastic replica will be on a wedding cake, and when Hinata comes, he'll take the piece and the knife and he'll chop your figurine's head off, saying it was an accident."

Naoi spotted the cake knife. "Good idea!" he said, reaching for the knife. Otonashi batted his hand away, to which Naoi frowned upon. "It was just gonna be an accident..." he whined.

"But it was an intentional action," Otonashi reasoned. "Besides, since everything looks in order, I guess we can sit down, talk about things, and discuss things. Wait, where's Kanade?"

Yuri looked around. "Probably running late. Tachibana said she would be here though. There's no way she would miss the wedding of her enemy's first accomplice."

"Is it necessary to make things sound like an evil syndicate?"

"Well, why not?" Yuri said with a smile.

"What is everyone talking about?" asked a quiet voice. Otonashi looked to his right, where the voice had come from, where stood Kanade in a white dress with frizzled sleeves. A white version of the hairclip she wore organized the stream of hair that fell to her back.

"Whoa!" Yuri exclaimed. "Never thought someone would be this formal!"

"Well, I wouldn't want to miss my 'enemy's accomplice's wedding', now would I?" Otonashi face-palmed. "What's with the gesture? Was it something I said.

"E-xactly!" Naoi said, slurring out the "e".

"Did something hold you up?" Yuri asked.

"My uncle returned from China," Kanade explained, turning to a man and a younger man next to him. The older man had greying hair, combed in a thin swirl, and was wearing a tuxedo. The younger man wore similar attire, but had black-brown hair, piercing brown eyes, and the face of a perfectionist. "Uncle," she said, "these are the new friends I made. Otonashi Yuzuru, Nakamura Yuri, and Naoi Ayato." She gestured to each individual as she said their names.

"Pleased to male your acquaintance," the younger man said, dipping into a formal bow, a hint of a different accent than Japanese in his voice. Otonashi could see a hint of both annoyance and disgust to the man.

"His name is Long Fong Sun," Kanade said. "From what he claims, it literally translates into _Dragon Wind God_ from Chinese, although it's actually supposed to mean _Dragon's God-wind_. He's in Japan for some reason I don't fully understand yet."

"Comparing Asian cultures," he said. "And Tachibana is being my guide around town. Did you know that the Japanese language has borrowed words from the Cantonese Chinese dialect?"

No one bothered to answer the question. "That's not the real reason..." she muttered. As far as how she said it, no one had heard it, except for Otonashi.

"What?" Otonashi whispered back.

"Nothing," Kanade whispered back. "Besides," she said at her regular volume, "he's here to witness how different Japanese marriages are from Chinese marriages." Long nodded.

Otonashi felt a weird feeling overtaking him, like something bad was going to happen. The piano started to play, filling the air with a bright yet fragile tune. Some adults filed in and began taking seats. Yuri and Naoi took their places at the front of the rows. "C'mon, Otonashi!" Yuri called.

"Kanade," Otonashi said, "let's go and get a seat with Yuri and Naoi." He glanced at her uncle, whose eyebrows twitched. Kanade willingly took a step forward, but her uncle stopped her with a hand to her shoulder.

"No," he said, "Kanade will be sitting with Long and I. You go on with your friends."

"Uncle..." Kanade started.

"You will be sitting with us," he said sternly. "Long, go find a seat for you and Kanade. I'll be there soon."

"Come, Tachibana," Long said, "let's go." Kanade looked pitifully at Otonashi, then turned as Long walked forward, taking a seat in a middle row.

"So, you're one of the ones that my daughter has befriended," the uncle told Otonashi. "I have to say you have some nerve to call Kanade by her given name, even though you've just met her."

"I did not _just_ meet her," Otonashi protested, "we-..."

"No more out of you! Keep quiet, and do not consort with my niece by her first name!" And with that, the uncle pushed past Otonashi and made his way to Kanade, whom now sat in between the two men.

_Rude,_ Otonashi thought, frowning. _Some nerve to try and conquer my life. Without me, Kanade wouldn't be living right now!_ Otonashi bottled up whatever anger he had left, and made his way to Yuri and Naoi.

"Is something wrong, Otonashi?" Naoi asked when he sat down. "Did something happen between you and Kanade's uncle?"

Otonashi casted a glare at Kanade's uncle, whom was now speaking intently to Kanade and Long. Kanade stared forward, into Otonashi's general direction. "Nothing to talk about," he answered. "That guy is a total bastard." Otonashi clenched his teeth and pounded a fist into his palm.

Naoi seemed surprised by Otonashi's coming animosity. "I've never actually heard you curse before."

"That man, ungrateful..." Otonashi suppressed his anger to prevent him from doing anything more rash. "He doesn't know anything!"

"Well," Naoi said, "that's the point of dramatic irony. We know something between two people in which another person doesn't. It's natural, although the fact of you and Tachibana being separated makes me feel friendship isn't enough to keep you two together." Naoi crossed his arms and propped a leg on top of his knee. "If you want, I can hypnotize ol' Uncle and Dragon-boy to go somewhere else."

"I wish..."Otonashi growled.

The adults behind him stopped whispering amongst themselves as the pastor walked from the back, and the pianist assumed a livelier tune. The doors opened, to which Hinata entered from the right side of the sanctuary, and Yui and her mother on the left. Hinata was dressed in a tuxedo similar to Naoi's, but his overcoat had a somewhat shiny sheen and the white polo shirt had creases for design. Yui was lain in a white wedding dress, a semi-transparent veil covering her face. They made their way onto the stage in front of the pastor and the podium.

"Good evening, one and all," the pastor said, his voice amplified by a microphone headset. "We are gathered here, on this night in solemnity, to join the hands of Hideki Hinata and Kitamura Yui in matrimony. These two have not long professed love for each other for long, yet their relationship seems mature in its development.

"And now, we have come to the time that we join their hands in marriage. For whomever wishes to oppose this heavenly bonding, speak now, or forever hold your peace." There was a pause, and the pastor took a small box, where two golden rings were situated inside, handing one to Hinata and one to Yui's mother. "Now, we continue into the vows. Hideki Hinata, may you repeat after me..."

"I," Hinata said boldly, "Hideki Hinata, take you, Kitamura Yui, to be my lawfully wedded wife, with witness of both God and all those in attendance here. This ring, I give to you as my unbreakable promise to be by your side through sickness and health, through sorrow and joy, and through the good times and bad.

"I further promise to love you with all I am, to share our experiences with each other; to laugh and cry with you as the time comes. I shall be the one whom stays by your side until Death takes us. By God and this ring, I seal this vow." Hinata stared at the ring and kissed it before taking Yui's hand and slipping it onto Yui's left ring finger. When Hinata let go, everyone clapped their hands.

Yuk closed her eyes. "Kitamura Yui, may you repeat after me..."

"Warmth..." Yui said softly, but loud enough for everyone to hear, "I feel warmth on my hands..." She looked up at Hinata. "I... I can feel warmth in my hands!"

"No way," Naoi whispered. "She was supposed to be paralyzed neck-down! It is supposed to be impossible to be able to feel her hands!"

Yui's right hand started twitching, then clumsily brought it up. Steadying it, she plucked the ring from her mother's palm, to which her mother stared at Yui in awe. "I, Kitamura Yui, take you, Hideki Hinata, to be my lawfully wedded husband, with witness of both God and all those in attendance here. This ring, I give to you as my unbreakable promise to be by your side through sickness and health, through sorrow and joy, and through the good times and bad.

"I further promise to love you with all I am, to share our experiences with each other; to laugh and cry with you as the time comes. I shall be the one whom stays by your side until Death takes us. By God and this ring, I seal this vow." She brought the ring to her lips, kissed it, then raised Hinata's left hand and slipped it onto his ring finger.

"The vows have been declared, and the rings have been exchanged!" the pastor called. "And with the power of God vested within me, I hereby pronounce you husband and wife!" He smiled as he sighed and said, "Thou may kiss the bride."

As Hinata and Yui kissed, the sanctuary burst into applause. They released each other after a couple seconds and looked at each other. Hinata then hugged Yui tightly. "You can move your hands..." he said. "I'm so happy...!"

Yui brought her hands around Hinata's back. "I felt warmth... after for so long feeling nothing. I can move again!" She smiled.

They released each other. "And may the groom like to say anything?" the pastor asked.

Hinata looked at the crowd and accepted a microphone from the pastor. "It's true," he said. "We have not met for a long time. But we have met before." Hinata closed his eyes, allowing a tear to fall. "One night, I dreamed a dream. It was of a school, a grand school as it was. I saw a girl, Yui, sitting all by herself at lunch. If it had not been for Yuri and Otonashi, for their voices, I would have not been able to approach Yui and start talking to her.

"Every night after that, I dreamed that dream, as if the world of dreams was life itself. Yui and I became close, and it had been over the course of two years that the school year ended, and we realized that the world of dreams was the connection of what we wished to seek out. Yui's final wish was to become married, a wish that she had not looked to, given her disability. I promised her that I would marry her, and that we would meet... by me hitting a baseball through her bedroom window.

"It was barely a month ago when that fateful day happened. Otonashi had decided to come play baseball with me, and I hit so far a home run that it crashed into a house's second story window. I had knew then, that I had found Yui, beating the odds of a six-billionth percent.

"And by thus we have known each other. And from this day forward, our relationship will shine... and, hopefully, be forever brighter. Thank you." Hinata bowed lowly, ending with the crowd's applause.

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><p><strong>AN: Here's a bit of OOC'ness from me, since I had just written my first marriage scene... and I don't think it'll end sooner or later. Read and Review!**

**-1caiser  
><strong>


	17. Let's Think This Over

**To Live Live Fully**

**Chapter 16: Let's Think This Over...  
><strong>

Disclaimer: _Angel Beats!_'s characters, setting, and plot do not belong to me. Even Mazui's subs, to which I have his subs extracted to form this FF.

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><p>After the coronation, everyone lined up for the wedding feast. Healthy foods and unhealthy foods alike lined the banquet tables... yet there was enough for everyone. Otonashi picked his share and walked over to his designated table. Hinata was sitting there, fiddling with the silverware.<p>

"What're you up to?" Otonashi asked. "Shouldn't you have gotten your food already?"

"Well, I don't like going first much... therefore I'm waiting 'til this line diminishes. Yui isn't quite fast enough to take her food either, so we told the guests we'd go last."

"Bummer," Yuri said, coming along with her plate. "I was thinking of taking the salt and pepper and megadosing it when you weren't looking."

"You trying to kill me again?" Hinata asked somewhat loudly.

Yuri playfully gave him a cat's paw. "You're so funny sometimes. Just like when I used to push you off the roof sometimes." Otonashi could only stare.

"Three times too..." Hinata grumbled. "Although not like Yui's KO'ing me in Afterlife many times over to cause her to become swatstika'ed."

"You have a choice to," Yui said, fingering the napkin in her hands. She unfolded and folded it over and over again, as if getting used to using her hands again.

"Eh," Hinata said. "Otonashi, when're you going to take that academy test?"

"Uhh, like two day's time," Otonashi replied. "It's a while away, so I'll try to spend all this time with you, Yuri, Naoi, and Kanade as much as possible."

"How about studying?" Yui asked. "You've done enough of that already?"

"None at all. But I still know what I learned a few months ago, so that's fine." Otonashi gave a sheepish smile. He set his food down and sat in the chair, taking in the banquet food for his somewhat lack of lunch. Yuri sighed and decided it was time to eat to, so she took the seat next to Hinata, an empty seat away from Otonashi. Naoi set his food down a while later.

"So much foods to choose from," Naoi said. "Took me a while."

"Judging by your plate," Hinata said, "I think you were probably _just_ thinking of decapitating my wedding cake figurine head. I don't like that sight very much..." He slowly got up and grasped the handlebars of Yui's wheelchair. "I'm gonna go pick out our food now. See you all in a while." Hinata left the table toward the food tables.

Naoi snorted. "He just doesn't want to experience extreme humiliation," he said, crossing his arms.

"I don't think it's a good idea for him to be rampaging clothespins, batteries, or toilet paper now," Otonashi said. "Behave yourself, Naoi." Naoi only whined.

Kanade came to the table and set her plate at the seat next to Otonashi and sat down. "Excuse my Uncle's harshness," Kanade said. "He hasn't been in Japan for some time, and so isn't as used to our culture... or something like that."

"That statement seems entirely generated by a different person, Tachibana," Naoi said.

"Exact words from Uncle," she confirmed. "How'd you know?"

"Being your vice-president, I am very knowledgeable in how you speak, even when scolding me about using fire extinguishers to punish student on the roof or in the _reflection_ rooms." Otonashi saw that Naoi actually meant the ones with high-security.

"I suppose." Kanade brought a spoonful of Sriracha-marinated meat into her mouth. "He could be rude at times, but I never though he'd be this sour."

"He's entirely spicy if you ask me," Yuri said, twirling a straw in a can of soda she decided to bring out. "I don't like spicy very much, anyway... so I have different tastes!"

"Well, we all know Tachibana's Uncle is not in the least bit sweet!" Oyama cut in, placing his plate in the seat next to Hinata's. No one laughed, although Otonashi thought it was decent enough to even cough at. "Not funny?"

"You really do uphold the title for 'being specialized in not being special at all', Oyama," Yuri commented, slurping soda from the straw.

"I am, aren't I?" Oyama said, smiling brightly.

"Oyama!" Hinata said, coming over to place two plates on the table and push Yui into position for her to eat. "How're you doing? I heard from Tachibana and Otonashi that you got a job as a delivery-man."

"That's right," Oyama said. "I guess I can drive fine, as we as finding houses."

"Everyone can do that," Yuri said with a full mouth. "Some people have to drive at some point of their lives." Rice and spit ejected from her mouth whenever she said a word with the _P_ in its syllable.

"Say it, don't spray!" Hinata said, taking a napkin to wipe off his arm.

"Excuse me...!" Yuri said playfully.

"Don't worry, Senpai!" Yui said, joining in. "We can always have Otonashi check up on you! Besides,you don't die easily anyway."

"Uhh, the academy I'm going to is a boarding school," Otonashi replied. "My house is sadly going to be empty for some time."

"Bummer," Yuri said. "That's such a buzz-kill."

With everyone gathered, they talked about things: events from Afterlife, usually joking around with Hinata and Yui, and making ridiculous claims about Long and Kanade's Uncle with stifled giggles and chuckles. To Otonashi, it was almost like the Monster fish soup day, the night when the rogue _harmonics_ clone attacked; lots of talk and laughs at and with each other. It was the previous fun times.

"Say, Otonashi," Hinata said, "you said you were gonna be a doctor, were you?"

"Something of the like," Otonashi said. "I could be a surgeon, paramedic, pharmacist, or a nurse."

"Aren't nurses supposed to be women?" Yuri asked.

"That's a stereotype," Naoi said. "Nurse just means someone who either helps the doctor perform tasks or supervises the patients."

"Either way," Hinata said, "is there a division or some method of reconnecting nerves?"

"I would guess so," Otonashi replied.

"Then we could reconnect Yui's legs and have her walk again! But since Otonashi's gonna be away for four years, she may have to start out with crawling again!" He and Yuri laughed.

"You don't even have faith in your own _wife_?" Yui asked, slapping Hinata on the cheek, leaving a rather red mark.

"I didn't mean it that way..." Hinata whined, grasping the place of contact. "Besides, I was thinking of having Otonashi come over when he graduates to try and reconnect the nerves in your legs..."

"Or give you aesthetics," Yuri pointed out.

"Or give you aesthetics," Hinata said. "Then maybe we'll teach you how to walk again."

"And there you go again!" Yui brought her other hand across Hinata's face, leaving a mirror image of the reddened mark.

"Sometimes," Naoi said coolly, "I wonder why you even bother having to consider marriage some few months after the school year."

"I hate to agree with you, but I think about it too..." Hinata said grudgingly. "I mean, seriously: who marries someone only a few months into his or her first days as a member of society?"

"Talking about down on me again?" This time, Yui pummeled Hinata's face down into his plate, awarding him with fried rice, peas, carrot bits, and egg white bits as face decoration.

"This is the best day of my life..." Hinata said, still face-planted.

"She only lower-cut you because she didn't want you flying up into the roof," Oyama said. "And there wasn't another cheek to slap."

"My ass..." Hinata mumbled.

* * *

><p>It was thirty minutes until Hinata's slapstick scene ended; resulting in the dismissal of the peoples. The sky was darkening for the evening, giving the cars in the parking lot an orange sheen. The former SSS members were the last to leave the church, along with Long, Kanade's Uncle, and Yui's Mother.<p>

"This is our final goodbye, isn't it?" Otonashi asked Kanade. He was safe for now, since Kanade's Uncle was talking to Long back at the church entrance. "Your Uncle won't let me see you anymore, and I'll be off in a medical academy soon."

"I'll go see you off," Kanade said. "I won't care what my Uncle thinks - I'll just tell him I'm going to pick clothes or something at Shibuya."

"Well, won't it be hard to say goodbye then?" Otonashi asked. "It'll be easier on you if we could part now..."

"Then I shall try my best to keep you here. But that isn't going to happen; my future, sadly, hasn't been planned out how I want it. My Uncle... well, I'm basically sitting in his hand right now."

"If you do get thrown out of your house, my house is always open for you. The backyard window into the kitchen has a broken lock, but I don't open it often."

"That means we can raid that house, ehh?" Yuri asked, butting in with a smile.

"Don't do that... it's my house, and I don't have much to steal anyway..." Otonashi sighed. "But I guess you're welcome to enter..."

Yuri pumped a fist in triumph before heading to her father's friend's car, whom had just signaled his arrival with a car horn. "I'll call you from time to time," Otonashi said.

"Okay. I hope you pass your exam." Kanade didn't sound too sure of herself as her Uncle called her into the car. Kanade paused for a moment, causing the Uncle to come over.

"Kanade. Let's go home," he said. Kanade sighed before leaving for the car, stuck with Dragon-boy. Kanade's uncle turned to Otonashi. "Look, boy," he said, starting his insults, "you're some guy probably picked off the streets. I don't want some rat getting together with my niece, since I don't know your motive." He laughed. "Ha! Why am I even telling you this? We won't be seeing each other for a long time!" He walked back to his car, laughing to himself.

"Old man," Otonashi said, "If I weren't here, you wouldn't have a niece to protect. You actually don't know my motive; but I'm sure your motive is more devastating to her than mine. And, I think we'll be seeing each other very soon.

"Very, very soon." He turned and walked to Yui's car, his only means of transportation home.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Chapter 16, the Chapter before the Final Chapter. I'm glad this story is closing, as it had been a while I had resumed this FF for my hiatus. I have so many Story Ideas already written out that it's not even funny. Even so, I hope this story will close as a success.**

**-1caiser  
><strong>


	18. Final Chapter: I Reject!

**To Live Live Fully**

**Final Chapter: I Reject!**

Disclaimer: _Angel Beats!_'s characters, setting, and plot do not belong to me. Even Mazui's subs, to which I have his subs extracted to form this FF.

* * *

><p>Tuesday came like as if Monday never existed.<p>

The day went by as if time was a broken hourglass.

Otonashi was walking to the Shibuya bus or taxi stop, hands tucked away in pockets and head dipped low against his coat. The stormy clouds ahead started to release the rain that the news promised that day, and Otonashi raised an umbrella above his head. He reminiscenced of that morning, before he started walking.

* * *

><p><em>Approximately two hours ago...<em>

_Knock knock._ "Yo, Otonashi? You awake?"

Otonashi looked up from his packing. "Hinata?" he asked. "I'm packing some stuff, just in case I get enrolled."

"Yeah, can I come in?" Otonashi sighed as he went to the door, unlocked it, and allowed Hinata to step in. "You eat breakfast yet?" Otonashi shook his head with a frown. "Well, if you were finished packing, then I guess you could come on over. Wanna?"

"Yeah, I guess. I can finish packing later anyway." Otonashi took the house key from a nearby table and followed Hinata out, locking the door behind himself.

The sun was somewhat blocked by clouds, but sunshine still streamed through. Some of the spots shone on the concrete path, almost moving as if Kanade were there. Otonashi blinked, and the silhouette of Kanade disappeared. _What was that?_

* * *

><p>The atmosphere of Yui's house seemed less lively. The place was almost deathly silent, contrary to the other days when everyone was clamorous and loud. It almost seemed as if the household was holding in its breath for something more important.<p>

Even Yui's room didn't have the same feel. Yui was more quiet than ever, almost as if she still hadn't realized the fact her hands were free just that weekend. "Today..." Hinata said solemnly when Otonashi came back from the restroom and was about to step in, "today comes that day, huh?"

"So sudden that something so serious could happen," Yui said softly. "How do you think Otonashi will react?"

"Kanade told him she would explain. But somehow, this proposition is a bit to far. Otonashi would have lost everything if he were to act, then something happens. Do you think Afterlife exists twice?"

Otonashi sighed as he took a small step backwards. He sighed. _Something I can't know,_ he thought. _Kanade will explain this... whatever it is... but why didn't she come over and tell me yesterday? Or tell anyone to tell me...?_ Otonashi clenched his teeth. _Why...? Is it just to keep me focused on the medical work?_

He sighed before entering the room again, to which Yui gave Hinata a soft _shh_. _Hiding something..._ Otonashi thought. "Something big is happening today," he said, trying to reveal what they were discussing.

"Your medical test," Hinata sighed. "You go this evening."

"Yeah... I'm kinda nervous."

"Didn't you study for it?" Yui asked.

Otonashi smiled sheepishly. "Heh... no, I did not... but I still do well without the studying."

"Hope that's true," Hinata sighed. "I don't have that kind of mind. Besides, who marries the weekend of graduation?"

"Special people, I guess," Otonashi said, stepping forward and catching Yui's arm before it connected with Hinata's head.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Hinata said, seeing Yui's raised hand. "I'm actually happy that I can actually do something with my life now!"

Otonashi stifled a chuckle as he let go of Yui's hand. "Sure enough, I'm sure I can do something with my life... if I finish the academy. Maybe I'll be able to reconnect nerves."

"Then I can use my legs!" Yui said.

Otonashi chuckled as he imagined the events of that day. "It probably won't be until in a few years," he said. "Four years of medical college, so yeah."

"By that time, Yui's legs would probably be frozen, and we'd have to teach her how to walk again!" Hinata said. This time, Otonashi couldn't catch Yui's arm, and Hinata clutched his head again.

"How many times have you hit Hinata since your wedding day? These past... two or three days?"

"Exactly seventeen..." Hinata grunted. "Mostly because I say something about her or our marriage..."

"Do you regret it?"

"You think so? I helped her 'graduate' Afterlife. I have something to better my life, much less stay bored every day."

_He is serious..._ Otonashi thought. "To the point you would get hit in the head by it."

"Well, that's Yui's decision on whether to hit me or not." Hinata sighed. "Still, you're gonna be gone for four years."

"Yeah. I know."

"Do you feel at rest?"

"Not entirely. There's something bothering me, like a voice in my head is telling 'not yet'. I can't explain it, but it always bothered me since I got back. I guess I've been fretting over it so much that I forgot to study."

"Hope you do fine," Hinata said. "Besides, you should get going. It takes at least half-an-hour to get to the medical academy for testing, right?"

"Yeah." Otonashi got up. "I guess I'll see you after some four years?"

"I'll be sure to make a phone call over every now and then." Hinata gave Otonashi a thumbs-up.

"Hinata!" called Yui's mom, "Yui! We have to get ready too!"

"Oh, right! We'll be right down!" Hinata faced Otonashi. "I guess this is gonna be the second-to-last time we'll see each other, wouldn't it?"

"Don't be so negative," Otonashi said. "Who knows when we'll meet some other day." He raised a palm. "Time to go. You too?"

"Yeah," Hinata said, slapping the raised palm, then grasping it tightly. "Good luck on that test." He grinned before releasing the hand to bring Yui into the wheelchair.

LINE

Otonashi sighed as he watched the cars pass the intersection in front of Shibuya. A taxi came to the curb, to which a man with a suitcase ran into. The car sped off into the distance, converging into the streams of other vehicles and the fog from the rain. He looked ahead, seeing a figure against the rain.

"Kanade?" he questioned as he ran up to her. The rain had leveled her hair, and had drenched her clothes. Otonashi instead raised the umbrella over Kanade's head. "Kanade, are you an idiot?" he asked a bit harshly. "Didn't you know the news promised a rainstorm?"

Kanade looked away. "I forgot," was her quiet answer. "You leave today."

"Everyone's saying that," Otonashi said, taking off the raincoat he was wearing and draping it over Kanade's shoulders. "It's obvious enough for me to understand. Kanade then looked down, water dripping down her cheeks. "Is something wrong?" Otonashi asked. Almost suddenly, Kanade turned around and wrapped her arms around Otonashi, shaking as she cried. As she did, Otonashi could only wonder what was going on, but still embraced Kanade. It was several minutes before she settled down.

"Are you done?" Otonashi asked softly. He felt her nod, probably her voice still too shaky to answer. "Can you tell me what's going on?"

Kanade shook once. "It was true."

"What was?"

"We can never be together," Kanade said solemnly. "There really was someone between us."

"Who?" Otonashi knew he was not going to like what he was going to hear.

"My uncle... h-he made a... a deal while in China. He decided that... that I might not be able... to supply him with money when he retires... because of the heart-transplant business..."

"So what kind of deal? This doesn't make any bit of sense!"

"He decided to give me up to have himself a better life." Kanade looked away, as if embarrassed. "He had Long come 'study' in Japan to be with me, get to know me."

Otonashi feigned tears as he wrapped his arms around Kanade. "Kanade..." he said. "I don't want to lose you again..."

"Today, I will be married. You will take your test. Tomorrow, I will take a flight to China to meet his parents. And you will start your course." Kanade pushed Otonashi to separate themselves. "And we will never see each other again..." A drop of water fell from Kanade's eyes, and Otonashi could only know it was not the rain. "This is the last time we'll see each other," Kanade said. "And only fate bring us together again."

The bus had arrived, and people waiting under the eaves of _Shibuya 101_ entered the bus. Otonashi felt a tear leave his eyes. "Kanade..."

"Go do your duty, fulfill your dream. Receive the 'thank you' you've always wanted. Don't let me get in the way of your life."

And with that, Kanade stood on the tips of her toes and connected her lips to Otonashi's. It was a brief moment before she released herself, and said with closed eyes: "I always knew in my heart... but just do this for me. Help others overcome their hardships. But remember me. Please?"

Otonashi opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. With regret, he nodded. The line of people diminished to two people, and Otonashi heaved his bag, and solemnly walked into the bus and found an empty seat, away from the other people. He looked out the window one last time at Kanade, left out in the rain with his raincoat still draping her shoulders.

Ten minutes into the bus ride, the radio station started to broadcast something that got Otonashi's attention. _"Time-passing Song_ [Toki o Kizamu Uta]_, by Anant-Garde Eyes, first created by someone in an emotional depression,"_ the radio said.

_"My husband died while saving, saving a man's life,"_ a woman's voice said. _"I didn't want to lose him, but he was gone."_

_"And now, a love song."_

_"Our only son wanted a father to have fun with, and I didn't want to find another man to love. He was the only one..." _The voices ended, starting the song.

"Kanade..." Otonashi whispered. He remembered all the events that happened: meeting her at Shibuya, cooking ramen for her, chatting and laughing with Yui and Hinata, and having her stay. He protected her from a school uprising. And all those memories will be all gone.

_"Everyone will be left alone someday, they live on only in the memories you keep with you," Brave Song_ reminded him.

Otonashi looked down at his lap as tears accumulated and started to fall. _I don't want to find another girl to spend my eternity with,_ Otonashi told himself.

_"I don't want~ to go on alone..."_ Time-passing Song repeated. _"You were my chosen one... whom I loved, all of me..."_

The bus stopped at a bus stop, and Otonashi got off at that point. Nothing mattered as he walked to a nearby taxi. "Where to?" the driver asked, looking through his glasses in the rear-view mirror.

"First Baptist Church of Shibuya," Otonashi demanded, although managed to keep his voice calm. The driver nodded, then started the cab into the direction Otonashi had come from. Otonashi was determined. There was no turning back now.

The taxi stopped at the church where Hinata and Yui had married. Otonashi burst out of the taxi with his fare of 10000 yen, his academy entrance money, left in the seat. The driver seemed to look back before driving away.

"... and to whosoever wish to reject this heavenly proposal," the pastor was saying, "speak now or forever keep your peace."

Otonashi reached the right sanctuary door and swung it open. "Kanade!" he called, causing everyone in the sanctuary to focus on the newcomer, even Long and Kanade on the stage. Otonashi could spot the faces of Yuri, Naoi, Hinata, and Yui in the seats. Immediately, a familiar tune started to play, soft; with that touch of weakness and worthlessness. Otonashi banged his fist on the propped door, held by a magnet. "What makes you think you're doing the right thing? How does consenting to your Uncle's wish grant you happiness? Is there a reason you marry some foreign snob whose family is rich with money?"

The starting tune ended, but came a powerful tune, fueling Otonashi's determination to continue, regardless what the others may have thought. "Ever since Afterlife, all of the SSS... we all fought against you! But we saw that you were harmless, and I was the first to invite you to join us. You wanted someone to be with, talk with, and have fun with - it was all you ever wanted!

"I gave that to you! I cared, knowing you didn't want to subjugate us into graduation. It wasn't a bad thing, you were teaching it was a good thing! We didn't understand until later... because you showed me how Afterlife was supposed to function."

Otonashi turned to Long. "And you, Long! What makes you interested in Kanade? Is it someone to just cook you breakfast, clean up the house, or take care of your kid alone? Is Kanade only a servant to you - that you don't even _consider_ how she feels?" Otonashi stepped forward, and Long bared his teeth.

"What makes you so high and mighty that you disrupt this proposal?" Long snarled. "What makes you worthy enough to be with her?"

"The only reason is that I have a reason that she is mine! I gave her my heart, and it has been beating inside her for over a month!"

Long grew surprised, and even a few gasps came from the audience. But Long recovered, making a fist and about to connect it with Otonashi's face. But it never did. A wall of feathers blocked the strike.

Otonashi could see Long's face, as well as everyone else's; awe-stricken. The wings separated, revealing Long's frozen and shocked form. His fist returned to him as he stared behind Otonashi at Kanade. "What..."

"What was that...?" asked an onlooker.

"Looks like wings..." said another.

"It's not an angel, is it?"

"In Afterlife," Otonashi said, "Kanade was named _Tenshi_ when I first met her. She even now has the appearance of one. You claim I'm not worthy? I was the one parallel to the one who _created_ the Afterlife!"

Long revealed a small pistol from his belt, hidden a under his tuxedo like a government agent. He pointed the gun at the unsurprised Otonashi, but came a clear voice like water: "Guard Skill - _hand sonic, version six_." Otonashi felt a feather brush his cheek as Kanade moved forward to intercept the gun, knocking the barrel half of it in the air. More gasps resounded as Otonashi saw the new Version Six. A long white, lined with blue, blade with metal-designed wings as a decoration for the guard. It was an actual sword, as there was a hilt. A pale white stone rested in the pommel. The sword itself seemed to glow with energy.

"It really is an angel!" cried the audience, many scrambling for the exits. Among the clamor, traces of cars' engines starting sounded. Long's hand trembled, only holding the hammer and grip parts of the gun. His breath was shaky, chattering gasps. "An a-angel..." he stammered. "Holy... divine... godly..." His hand limply dropped the gun, resounding in a clatter. "It isn't... possible...!" Long started to back away, falling to his feet.

Kanade looked down at Long, her _hand sonic_ fading away. "It tells me something Long," Kanade said with closed eyes. "What you would have done for me had been nothing. What my Uncle would do was only for his benefit alone. I had realized... I was no longer wanted in the world, but one person reaches out his hand to bring me back." Kanade opened her eyes and stared into Long's. "Leave."

With that, Kanade's Uncle stood up and gathered everyone's attention with a clap of his hands. "Okay," he said. "Kanade, don't be so rash. Please bring out your special effects friends and we can stay happy."

"Idiot..." Yuri commented from behind him.

Kanade stared at her Uncle and muttered, "Guard Skill - _harmonics_." A copy separated itself from Kanade and leapt at her Uncle, a _hand sonic_'s blade pressed against his chest. "I believed you, Uncle," Kanade said. "When Mom and Dad died, you promised a life that I would find pleasing to myself. And you lied."

"Kanade..." her Uncle started.

Kanade's gaze steeled themselves, the scene similar to when Kanade was going to "kill" someone in Afterlife. "Uncle," Kanade said. "I would know if it were a mistake. But you did it of your own accord, It was meant for you... and you alone.

"I know how it feels to kill people. In our Afterlife, it was partly my job to do so. I don't wish to do that again. Please. Take Long and go. Leave me alone... for I realize that the one that gave me the hope I wanted was right in front of me all along."

Kanade's Uncle opened his mouth the speak, but just paused as the _harmonics_ clone pressed its blade against his chest. He shook his head and hung it, walking out of the church doors. Kanade glanced at Long, whom scampered away behind Kanade's Uncle. Only Otonashi, Kanade and the other SSS members, the pianist and the pastor was left in the church. The light tune started up again. "What is your name, young man?" he asked Otonashi.

"Otonashi Yuzuru," Otonashi said.

The pastor nodded and returned to his bland appearance. "We have gathered here today, on this night in solemnity, to join the hands of Tachibana Kanade and Otonashi Yuzuru in matrimony. To whosoever wish... to reject this heavenly proposal, speak now or forever keep your peace." There was a brief silence. The pastor turned and shifted the book into one hand while holding the ring pillow into his other hand. "By these rings," he said, "we seal the promise of eternal love and inseparability. No longer shall any linger alone. Each take your respective ring." They were gold rings, something inscribed inside it. Otonashi took the one on his side, while Kanade did the same with her's

To Otonashi, the pastor said, "Now, may you please repeat after me..."

"By giving this ring... I, Otonashi Yuzuru, give to you, Tachibana Kanade, and seal my eternal love for you." He then slipped the ring on Kanade's ring finger.

To Kanade, the pastor had her say the same thing. "By giving this ring, I, Tachibana Kanade, give you, Otonashi Yuzuru, and seal my eternal love for you." Then she slipped the ring on Otonashi's ring finger.

The pastor nodded, then proclaimed, "And by this exchange of rings and the power of the Holy Spirit vested within me, I proclaim you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Otonashi looked at Kanade and felt entirely stupid that he started laughing. Everyone else had probably thought the exact same thing and joined in, with a different light tune in the background. "You can't finish the marriage if you don't do so!" Hinata cried out from behind laughs.

Kanade smiled, then released her wings and covered Otonashi with them and touched their lips together. Lost in their own world, Otonashi heard something behind the tune of the piano... something of a melody he had heard before, something familiar and bringing memories lost to time.

It was his heartbeat.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This Author's Note will be displayed in the End Author's Note (literally).**


	19. Epilogue: Unfinished Business

**To Live Live Fully**

**Epilogue: Unfinished Business**

Disclaimer: _Angel Beats!_'s characters, setting, and plot do not belong to me. Even Mazui's subs, to which I have his subs extracted to form this FF.

* * *

><p>Otonashi woke up as from an unexpected dream. He found himself staring at the top of a ceiling, a square fluorescent light hanging above his head. He looked around, and he seemed to be sleeping in a school infirmary. He rubbed his eyes as he got up, pushing aside the covers. He stepped out of the bed and slipped on his shoes, gathered his school jacket and put it on, then prepared to exit the door. But a glint of light entered the corner of his eye. He turned to see something he hadn't put there before.<p>

A gold ring and a slip of paper.

His dreams surged back into him: his "resurrection" in the train tunnel, his treatment at the hospital, meeting Kanade, Hinata, Yui, and almost being robbed. Then he saved Yuri and experienced Hinata and Yui's wedding. Then there was the introduction of Long and Kanade's Uncle.

Finally his marriage with Kanade.

He picked up the ring and stared at it. It looked like solid gold, but decided not to bite to see if it was real. He remembered the words written on the inside, and read them:

"Go do your duty, fulfill your dream. Receive the 'thank you' you've always wanted."

He gripped the ring as a tear flew out and burst through the door. He ran out to the top of the steps and cried out, "_Kanade_!" There was no answer. He stared at the ring, feeling a tear drop into his palm. "It was all a dream...?" he asked himself.

He knew what he must do. He had received his wish of being thanked, by Kanade, but still had a duty: take the role of Student Council President and help the newcomers graduate. Otonashi quickly assumed that role, filling out the form for a replacement Student Council President. There was no one there to replace Kanade and Naoi for the Student Body Council.

He then picked up the slip of paper. It read:

I came to find you first.  
>I came to save you first.<br>I came to love you first.  
>But you beat me to it.<br>If you would be a God, I will gladly be your Angel.

It was all written in a familiar handwriting.

* * *

><p>It has been two weeks since Otonashi had been elected Student Council President. As an academics graduate, he was exempt from classes, and so waited in the Student Council Room, the application of <em>Angel Player<em> at his side, unchecked since he returned. He had helped two other students graduate, and had made it his first priority, while also upholding the school rules. He looked up to the ceiling as he heard the _clack_ of a pencil thrown down in frustration.

"I know the truth!" a student said, the sound of a chair scraping the tile floor following. "This class is a lie... it's all fake!"

"What are you ta-?" the NPC teacher asked calmly, although was quickly cut off.

"I died without accomplishing anything! I know that already! But what's the point of doing all this?" Otonashi got up from his seat and started walking down through the door into the hall. "Will you take me to Heaven if I score well on tests?" There was a short pause. "Hey! Someone tell me! Tell me!"

Otonashi pushed open the classroom door and studied the subject. Yellow, chin-length hair; brownish eyes; and a face of rage, now with surprise. "Crap... it's the Student Council President..." said an NPC student, "what timing..."

"He's going to kill him..." said another.

Otonashi walked past the front row and up to the student. He grabbed the student by the collar and pulled him up. "Then quit complaining and do something about it." Otonashi stated strongly, starting quietly and his voice slowly elevating. "There's something you want to do, right? How will you accomplish it? Tell me, what do you need? What do you need right now? Tell me!" The student just stared at him, all other eyes focused on the two, deathly silent for Otonashi to speak.

"Some people," Otonashi continued, "needed courage to face their past."

Yuri... our leader, with the worst event in your life.

"Some people needed strength to reach their dreams."

Yui... you worked hard... even though you thought it was impossible...

"Some people needed time and friends."

_This was for you... Kanade!_ Her name threatened to shake him, but he kept it in. "What do you need?" he asked, finished.

"Right now..." the student answered, "the courage to face you!" He shoved Otonashi's arm off his uniform, surprising Otonashi.

Otonashi grinned, glancing at the student's wrinkled test. "Okay. See? You can do it. You know what to do now." Otonashi waved him off as he headed for the door. "But, if you ever feel unreasonable resentment or hesitation, come to the Student Council Room. I'll always be waiting there." With that, Otonashi exited and closed the classroom door.

"Damn, he's cool!" cried an NPC student. "I've never seen anything like that!"

"His name's Otonashi right?" asked a female. "Does he have a girlfriend?"

"They say he's waiting for someone," another female said. Otonashi entered the Student Council Room and returned to his seat.

"Really?"

The teacher clapped his hands. "Come on! Get back to the test! You too. Sit down!"

There was a low growl and the sound of crunching paper and the sound of a slider door opening and closing. Otonashi then saw him face to face with the student. "I want to talk," was his answer.

Otonashi smiled and told him to sit down, then started with, "You know why you're here, right?" He accessed the computer and opened _Angel Player_.

"All I know is that I died, longing for something. Sadly, I don't remember anything else."

Otonashi nodded, guiding _Angel Player_ to the unnamed program. It had been automatically given a name:

_Manifest_.

If love was able to manifest itself in this world, then this world will become a paradise...

_Kanade..._ Otonashi thought as he discussed advice and feedback, _I can do this. You never left me, even though you're not here next to me. But those times we spent together... I'll never forget them. And I'm waiting... waiting for the day when we can be together._

This place will and shall become a paradise; one of guidance and long-standing relationships. And if I am the God of this Afterlife... then you shall be my Angel.

Always.

~*~THE END~*~

私は, この死後の世界の神となった場合, その後... あなたは私の天使になる.

いつも.

_Watashi wa, kono shigo no sekai no kami to natta baai, sonogo... anata wa watashino tenshi ni naru._

_Itsumo._

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><p><strong>AN: This Author's Note will be displayed in the End Author's Note (literally).**


	20. EAN: End Author's Notes

**To Live Life Fully  
><strong>

**End Author's Note  
><strong>

**This chapter is outside the plot-line of the FF, therefore characters may be OOC, and I am taking place as an insert character. Thanks, information sources, and other randomness is displayed below this line.**

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><p>Kai face-planted his face on his open computer keyboard, sighing. His second fanfiction, <em>To Live Life Fully<em>, had just been finished. Otonashi, Kanade, Hinata, Yui, Yuri, and Naoi were present in the room, sitting in chairs on the other side of the desk. Kai sighed heavily, raising his head from the computer to face the characters. "Yes, the script gets cheesy in the end. Even I thought so."

"Two marriage scenes in the final three chapters," Naoi said. "Ah, anyone would have done it - except Otonashi would have added more of a twist to it."

"No one would have seen the OP'ness of Kanade in the final chapter," Otonashi pointed out.

"Chandler's Law..." Kanade whispered.

"That brings me to why I have brought you all here," Kai said, closing the computer's monitor.

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><p><strong>Disclaimer:<strong>

I have posted this Disclaimer on the tops of the FF's. If you have not read any of it, it is repeated here: **_Angel Beats!_'s characters, setting, and plot do not belong to me. Even Mazui's subs, to which I have his subs extracted to form this FF. **_Angel Beats!_ characters are the product of Key and OST's that have been included are to their makers (Aniplex [_any_ _Angel Beats! OST_], Anant-Garde Eyes [_any Angel Beats! OST_], Aoi Tada [_Brave Song_], and Magome Togoshi [_Shining in the Sky_]. The forward plot of the story, except the Prologue (Episode 13 ending of _Angel Beats!_) and the Epilogue (_Angel Beats! Another Epilogue_) belong to me, as those events were generated by me, although I still don't own the characters.

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><p><strong>Special Thanks:<strong>

All Special-Thanks' go to each respective Fanfiction-dot-net User.

1) **Broken Note_ - _**My self-proclaimed "beta" coming up with the fun facts of Yui's supposed "cure" being an actual happening and the Chandler's Law (I told you NINJAS ARE STILL GONNA COME!). Thanks for your persistent reading and reviewing in the last three chapters of my FF, offering information/advice. I appreciate that, and your devotion to my story.

2) **J . W . Yin (please take out the spaces. makes the name a website, therefore deleting it...)** - Also a devoted/persistent reader and reviewer, and his power reviewing all the way from the beginning to where I left off during my hiatus. Thanks!

3) **Tk . Hale (see above excuse for spaces) **- First reviewer and persistent reader until my hiatus. I appreciate your reviewing and how you liked the flow of the story. Thank you, but I wish you could have stuck around until the end.

4)**All You Other Reviewers/ Readers/ Story Alerter's/ and Favorite Story-ers**- You have not been forgotten! I may have not sent you a PM regarding your Alert/ Favorite/ or rarely the review, but I apologize for the lack of communication. I still thank you for sending it this kind of praise, as I do check Story Traffic everyday. Sure, the traffic sucks at times, only to jump once I update a Chapter, but I guess it helps. Thank you for taking the time to even read the prologue, even most people whom have watched _Angel Beats!_ should remember this scene. Thank you anyway!

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><p><strong>Other Stuff You May Want to Know<strong>:

"That's it! Here is a list of what helped me do my stuff...

1) Angel Beats! Wikia - the place where I can find the vague, yet helpful, information about _Angel Beats!_ that even I may have overlooked.

2) StarCraft II - My main stress reduction! Thank you Blizzard Entertainment, and there's something about this in one of my Story Ideas...

3) RuneScape - The most popular MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) on a browser! Also plays in stress reduction.

4) _Angel Beats!_ and _Clannad_ - Here's to my OST tracks! Give it up to Aniplex, Key, and all other sound people who participated in these great anime.

5) Of course, Fanfiction-dot-net: Where I can post my story(s) and where you can read 'em!

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><p>And my characters, whom I would be left without a story if they had not existed. And the urge to write a supposed "sequel" about this anime... although I don't have any idea regarding that.<p>

Otherwise, you can help by voting in the poll that I have set up for my next story. Thanks, and I will continue writing as soon as this poll is finished... unless there's a Round 2.


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